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JOURNAL 


OF   THE 


EIGHT  HON.  SIK  JOSEPH  BANKS 


JOUBNAL 


OF 


THE  EIGHT  HON. 

SIB   JOSEPH   BANKS 

BART.,  KB.,  P.R.S. 

DURING   CAPTAIN   COOK'S   FIRST   VOYAGE   IN   ELKS. 

ENDEAVOUR  IN  1768-71  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO, 

OTAHITE,  NEW  ZEALAND,  AUSTRALIA, 

THE  DUTCH  EAST  INDIES, 

ETC. 


EDITED    BY 

SIE  JOSEPH  D.  HOOKER 


WITH    PORTRAITS   AND   CHARTS 


MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  LTD. 

NEW  YORK:   THE  MACMILLAN  CO. 
1896 

A II  rights  reserved 


420 

(H6B2 


TO 

itoar*atmural  3.  TO.  H.  TOfjarton,  C.B.,  jF.E.S.,  &c.  &c. 
HTDROGRAPHER  OF  THE  ADMIRALTY 

MY  DEAR  ADMIRAL — Allow  me  to  dedicate  to  you,  as  the  able 
Editor  of  Captain  Cook's  Journal  of  his  first  voyage  round  the  world, 
that  of  his  fellow-voyager  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  in  token  of  the  great 
assistance  afforded  me  through  your  labour  on  the  aforesaid  work,  and 
as  the  efficient  and  accomplished  tenant  of  an  office  for  which  I  have 
ever  entertained  a  profound  respect,  that  of  Hydrographer  of  the 
Admiralty. 

Let  me  at  the  same  time  take  the  opportunity  of  coupling  with 
your  name  my  tribute  to  the  memory  of  three  of  your  predecessors, 
who  honoured  me  with  their  friendship,  and  encouraged  me  in  my 
scientific  career  as  an  officer  in  the  service  to  which  you  belong — 
Admiral  Sir  F.  Beaufort,  Admiral  Washington,  and  Captain  Sir 
F.  Evans. 

Believe  me, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

J.  D.  HOOKER. 

THE  CAMP,  SUNNINGDALE, 
May  1896. 


PREFACE 

MY  principal  motive  for  editing  the  Journal  kept  by  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  during  Lieutenant  Cook's  first  voyage  round 
the  world  is  to  give  prominence  to  his  indefatigable  labours 
as  an  accomplished  observer  and  ardent  collector  during  the 
whole  period  occupied  by  that  expedition,  and  thus  to  pre- 
sent him  as  the  pioneer  of  those  naturalist  voyagers  of  later 
years,  of  whom  Darwin  is  the  great  example. 

This  appears  to  me  to  be  the  more  desirable,  because  in 
no  biographical  notice  of  Banks  are  his  labours  and  studies 
as  a  working  naturalist  adequately  set  forth.  Indeed,  the 
only  allusion  I  can  find  to  their  literally  enormous  extent 
and  value  is  in  the  interesting  letter  from  Linnaeus  to  Ellis, 
which  will  be  found  on  p.  xl.  In  respect  of  Cook's  first 
voyage  this  is  in  a  measure  due  to  the  course  pursued  by 
Dr.  Hawkesworth  in  publishing  the  account  of  the  expedi- 
tion, when  Banks,  with  singular  disinterestedness,  placed  his 
Journal  in  that  editor's  hands,  with  permission  to  make 
what  use  of  it  he  thought  proper.  The  result  was  that 
Hawkesworth  *  selected  only  such  portions  as  would  interest 

1  Dr.  Hawkesworth  devotes  his  "Introduction  to  the  First  Voyage" 
almost  exclusively  to  the  services  which  Banks  rendered,  and  gratefully 
acknowledges  that  all  such  details  as  are  not  directly  connected  with  navi- 
gation are  extracted  'from  the  diary  of  that  naturalist.  But  for  the  purpose 
of  identifying  the  work  of  each  observer  this  is  insufficient,  and  barely  does 
justice  to  the  second  of  the  two  authors,  who  is  in  reality  responsible  for 
the  greater  portion  of  the  book.  In  reference  to  Hawkesworth  being 
employed  as  editor  of  Cook's  Journal,  the  following  passage  is  extracted 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


the  general  public,  incorporating  them  with  Cook's  Journal, 
often  without  allusion  to  their  author,  and  not  unfrequently 
introducing  into  them  reflections  of  his  own  as  being  those 
of  Cook  or  of  Banks.  Fortunately  the  recent  publication 
by  Admiral  Wharton  of  Cook's  own  Journal l  has  helped  to 
rectify  this,  for  any  one  comparing  the  two  narratives  can 
have  no  difficulty  in  recognising  the  source  whence  Hawkes- 
worth  derived  his  information. 

Another  motive  for  editing  Banks's  Journal  is  to  empha- 
sise the  important  services  which  its  author  rendered  to 
the  expedition.  It  needs  no  reading  between  the  lines  of 
the  great  navigator's  Journal,  to  discover  his  estimation  of 
the  ability  of  his  companion,  of  the  value  of  his  researches, 
and  of  the  importance  of  his  active  co-operation  on  many 
occasions.  It  was  Banks  who  rapidly  mastered  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Otahitans  and  became  the  interpreter  of  the 
party,  and  who  was  the  investigator  of  the  customs,  habits, 
etc.,  of  these  and  of  the  natives  of  New  Zealand.  It  was 
often  through  his  activity  that  the  commissariat  was  sup- 
plied with  food.  He  was  on  various  occasions  the  thief- 
taker,  especially  in  the  case  of  his  hazardous  expedition  for 
the  recovery  of  the  stolen  quadrant,  upon  the  use  of  which, 
in  observing  the  transit  of  Venus  across  the  sun's  disc,  the 
success  of  the  expedition  so  greatly  depended.  And,  above 
all,  it  is  to  Banks's  forethought  and  at  his  own  risk  that  an 
Otahitan  man  and  boy  were  taken  on  board,  through  whom 
Banks  directed,  when  in  New  Zealand,  those  inquiries 
into  the  customs  of  its  inhabitants,  which  are  the  founda- 

from  Prior's  Life  of  Malone : — "  Hawkesworth,  the  writer,  was  introduced  by 
Garrick  to  Lord  Sandwich,  who,  thinking  to  put  a  few  hundred  pounds  into 
his  pocket,  appointed  him  to  revise  and  publish  Cook's  Voyages.  He 
scarcely  did  anything  to  the  MSS.,  yet  sold  it  to  Cadell  and  Strahan,  the 
printer  and  bookseller,  for  £6000.  ..." 

1  Captain  Cook's  Journal  during  Ms  First  Voyage  round  the  World  in 
H.M.  Bark  "Endeavour"  1768-71,  with  Notes  and  Introduction  by  Captain 
W.  J.  L.  Wharton,  R.N.,  F.R.S.,  Hydrographer  of  the  Admiralty. 


PREFACE 


IX 


tion  of  our  knowledge  of  that  interesting  people.  And 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  information  obtained  was  at 
comparatively  few  points,  and  those  on  the  coast  only,  the 
fulness  and  accuracy  of  the  description  of  the  New  Zea- 
landers,  even  as  viewed  in  the  light  of  modern  knowledge, 
are  very  remarkable.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  it  was 
to  the  drawings  made  by  the  artists  whom  Banks  took  in 
his  suite  that  the  public  is  indebted  for  the  magnificent 
series  of  plates  that  adorn  Hawkesworth's  account  of  the 
voyage.  Still  another  motive  is,  that  Banks's  Journal  gives 
a  life-like  portrait  of  a  naturalist's  daily  occupation  at  sea 
and  ashore  nearly  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  ;  and  thus 
supplements  the  history  of  a  voyage  which,  for  extent  and  im- 
portance of  geographic  and  hydrographic  results,  was  unique 
and  "  to  the  English  nation  the  most  momentous  voyage  of 
discovery  that  has  ever  taken  place  "  (Wharton's  Cook,  Pre- 
face), and  which  has,  moreover,  directly  led  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  Empire ;  for  it  was  owing  to  the  reports  of  Cook  and 
Banks,  and,  it  is  believed,  to  the  representations  of  the  latter 
on  the  advantages  of  Botany  Bay  as  a  site  for  a  settlement, 
that  Australia  was  first  colonised. 

The  following  brief  history  of  the  Journal  itself  is  in- 
teresting. On  Sir  J.  Banks's  death  without  issue  in  1820, 
his  property  and  effects  passed  to  the  Hugessen  (his  wife's) 
family,  with  the  exception  of  the  library,  herbarium,  and 
the  lease  of  the  house  in  Soho  Square.  These  were  left  to 
his  librarian,  the  late  eminent  botanist,  Robert  Brown,  F.K.S., 
with  the  proviso  that  after  that  gentleman's  death,  the 
library  and  herbarium  were  to  go  to  the  British  Museum. 
Banks's  papers  and  correspondence,  including  the  Journal 
of  the  voyage  of  the  Endeavour,  were  then  placed  by  the 
trustees  in  Mr.  Brown's  hands,  with  the  object  of  his  writ- 
ing a  Life  of  Banks,  which  he  had  agreed  to  do.  Age  and 
infirmities,  however,  interfered  with  his  prosecution  of  this 


x  PREFACE 

work,  and  at  his  suggestion  the  materials  were  transferred 
with  the  same  object  to  my  maternal  grandfather,  Dawson 
Turner,  F.RS.,1  an  eminent  botanist  and  antiquarian,  who  had 
been  a  friend  of  Banks.  Mr.  Turner  at  once  had  the  whole 
faithfully  transcribed,  but  for  which  precaution  the  Journal 
would  as  a  whole  have  been  irretrievably  lost,  as  the  sequel 
will  show.  Beyond  having  copies  of  the  manuscript  made, 
Mr.  Turner  seems  to  have  done  nothing  towards  the  Life, 
and  after  a  lapse  of  some  years  the  originals  were  returned, 
together  with  the  copies,  to  Mr.  Knatchbull  Hugessen,  who 
placed  them  in  the  hands  of  the  late  Mr.  Bell,  Secretary  of 
the  Eoyal  Society,  in  the  hopes  that  he  would  undertake 
to  write  the  Life.  For  their  subsequent  wanderings  and 
the  ultimate  fate  of  many  portions,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr. 
Carruthers,  F.RS.,  late  Keeper  of  the  Botanical  Collections 
at  the  British  Museum,  who  has  favoured  me  with  the 
following  interesting  letter  concerning  them : — 

BRITISH  MUSEUM  (NATURAL  HISTORY), 
CROMWELL  ROAD,  SOUTH  KENSINGTON,  S.W., 
Uth  July  1893. 

DEAR  SIR  JOSEPH — Since  I  saw  you  about  the  Journal  of  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  in  Captain  Cook's  Voyage,  I  have  been  making  further 
inquiries  regarding  the  original  document. 

The  Banksian  Journal  and  correspondence  were  sent  to  the  Botani- 
cal Department,  after  correspondence  with  Mr.  Knatchbull  Hugessen, 
to  remain  in  my  keeping  till  the  death  of  Lady  Knatchbull,  when  it 
would  become  the  property  of  the  trustees.  I  was  instructed  to 
deposit  it  in  the  Manuscript  Department.  This  was  in  October  1873. 
Some  time  thereafter  I  persuaded  Mr.  Daydon  Jackson  to  look  at  the 
correspondence  with  the  view  of  preparing  a  biography  of  Banks. 
This  he  agreed  to  do.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Bell,  who  informed  me  in  a 
letter  written  14th  February  1876,  that  he  had  tried  to  get  Lord 

1  It  was  when  on  a  visit  to  my  grandfather  in  1833  that  I  first  saw  the 
orife  A  Journal  in  Banks's  handwriting.  It  was  then  being  copied,  and  I 
was  employed  to  verify  the  copies  of  the  earlier  part  by  comparison  with 
the  original.  I  well  remember  being  as  a  boy  fascinated  with  the  Journal, 
and  I  never  ceased  to  hope  that  it  might  one  day  be  published. 


PREFACE 


XI 


Stanhope  to  undertake  the  biography,  when  he  found  that  he  could 
not  himself  face  it,  and  thereafter  Mr.  Colquhoun  and  then  Mr.  John 
Ball,  F.R.S.  I  obtained  from  the  box,  by  leave  from  Mr.  Bond,  then 
Keeper  of  MSS.,  in  the  beginning  of  1876,  the  transcripts  made  for 
Mr.  Dawson  Turner  by  his  two  daughters,  which  have  remained  under 
my  care  in  the  Botanical  Department. 

The  story  of  the  originals  after  I  parted  with  them  is  a  distressing 
one.  Some  seven  or  eight  years  ago  Lord  Brabourne  claimed  the 
letters  as  his  property.  Mr.  Maunde  Thompson  remonstrated,  and 
told  him  that  they  were  to  remain  in  the  museum  till  the  death  of 
Lady  Knatchbull,  and  then  they  were  to  become  the  property  of  the 
trustees.  Lord  Brabourne  would  not  accept  this  view,  but  claimed 
them  as  his  own,  and  carried  off  the  box  and  its  contents.  They  were 
afterwards  offered  to  the  museum  for  sale,  but  the  price  offered  by 
the  Keeper  of  the  MSS.  was  not  satisfactory,  and  the  whole  collec- 
tion was  broken  up  into  lots,  207,  and  sold  by  auction  at  Sotheby's 
on  14th  April  1886.  The  Journal  of  Cook's  voyage  was  lot  176, 
and  was  described  in  the  catalogue  as  "  Banks's  (Sir  Joseph)  Journal 
of  a  Voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  New  Zealand,  from  March 
1769  l  to  July  1771,  in  the  autograph  of  Banks."  It  was  purchased 
by  an  autograph  dealer,  John  Waller,  for  £l  :  2  :  6.  Mr.  Britten  has 
gone  to  Waller's  to  inquire  after  the  Journal.  Waller  did  not 
specially  remember  that  purchase,  and  he  does  not  believe  he  has 
got  the  manuscript.  So  where  it  is  now  no  one  knows.2  As  you 
will  see,  the  earlier  portion  of  the  Journal  was  missing  in  the  lot  sold. 
Waller  bought  in  all  57  lots.  The  letters  were  broken  up  and  sold 
as  autographs ;  those  that  he  purchased  and  did  not  know,  like 
those  of  Brass,  Nelson,  Alex.  Anderson,  etc.,  and  were  of  no  money 
value,  he  would  probably  at  once  destroy,  so  he  told  Mr.  Britten.  So 
now  all  is  gone — for  whether  the  letters  are  preserved  by  autograph 
collectors,  or  were  at  once  thrown  into  the  wastepaper  basket,  they 
are  equally  lost  to  science.  The  207  lots  realised  in  all  £182  :  19s.  ! 

The  result  is  that  the  Journal  and  letters  transcribed  for  Dawson 
Turner,  and  now  here,  are  the  only  ones  available.  I  am  thankful 
they  have  been  saved  out  of  the  catastrophe. 

Your  transcriber  is  diligently  at  work. — I  am,  faithfully  yours, 

WM.  CARRUTHERS. 

1  That  is  some  time  after  leaving  Rio,  and  before  arriving  at  Otahite. 

2  I  have  since  ascertained  that  the  Journal  came  into  the  possession  of 
J.  Henniker  Heaton,  Esq.,  M.P.,  who  informs  me  that  he  disposed  of  it  to 
a  gentleman  in  Sydney,  N.S.W. 


xii  PREFACE 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  the  present  work 
owes  its  existence  to  the  copy  of  the  original  made  by  the 
Miss  Turners,  and  of  which  I  was  permitted  by  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  British  Museum  to  have  a  transcript  made  for 
publication.  In  doing  this  I  have  largely  exercised  my 
duties  as  editor  in  respect  of  curtailments.  The  Journal 
was  literally  a  diary,  to  which  may  truly  be  applied  the 
motto  nulla  dies  sine  linea,  and  contains  nearly  double 
the  quantity  of  matter  here  reproduced.  The  omitted  por- 
tions are  chiefly  observations  on  the  wind  and  weather ; 
extracts  from  the  ship's  log,  which  find  their  proper  place 
in  Cook's  Journal ;  innumerable  notices  of  birds  and  marine 
animals  that  were  of  constant  recurrence ;  and  lists  of 
plants  and  animals,  many  with  MS.  names  that  have  since 
been  superseded. 

Owing  also  to  the  Journal  being  a  diary  written  up 
from  day  to  day,  and  in  no  way  revised  for  publication,  the 
grammar  and  orthography  are  in  the  original  very  loose, 
and  I  have  therefore  corrected  the  language  to  accord  with 
modern  requirements ;  the  only  exceptions  being  in  the 
case  of  native  words,  such  as  Otahite,  tattowing,  kangooroo, 
etc.,  of  which  the  spelling  is  consistent  throughout,  and 
which  consequently  really  represent  Banks's  own  impres- 
sion of  the  native  pronunciation  of  such  words. 

It  remains  gratefully  to  record  my  obligations  to  the 
Trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  for  permission  to  tran- 
scribe the  Journal,  and  to  the  Officers  of  the  Natural 
History  Department,  Sir  W.  Flower,  Mr.  Carruthers,  and 
Mr.  Murray,  and  to  Mr.  E.  E.  Sykes,  an  acute  malacologist, 
for  aid  in  the  endeavour  to  determine  some  of  the  animals 
designated  by  MS.  names  in  the  Journal.  My  friend  Mr. 
B.  D.  Jackson,  Sec.L.S.,  author  of  the  article  on  Banks  in 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  has  kindly  supplied 
me  with  information  for  the  Life  of  Banks,  and  has  con- 


PREFACE  xiii 

tributed  that  of  Solander.  My  son,  Eeginald  H.  Hooker,  has 
aided  me  in  the  revision  of  the  Journal  and  in  the  press 
work,  and  has  drawn  up  the  notices  of  the  earlier  voyagers 
and  naturalists  to  whom  reference  is  made  by  Banks.  Lastly, 
I  have  cordially  to  thank  the  Presidents  and  Councils  of 
the  Eoyal  and  Linnean  Societies  respectively,  for  permission 
to  reproduce  in  photography  the  admirable  portraits  of 
Banks  and  Solander  which  adorn  their  meeting-rooms. 


J.  D.  HOOKER 


THE  CAMP,  SUNNINGDALE, 
May  1896. 


CONTENTS 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES  OF  BANKS  AND  SOLANDER  .        .        Page  xxiii 
NATURALISTS  AND  VOYAGERS  MENTIONED  IN  THE  JOURNAL  xliii 

LIST  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  "ENDEAVOUR"  AND  BANKS'S  STAFF    ,,        lii 

CHAPTEE  I 

ENGLAND    TO    RIO    DE    JANEIRO 

Departure — Birds  and  marine  animals — Species  of  Dagysa — Madeira — Dr. 
Heberden — Madeira  mahogany — Wine-making — Vines — Carts — Vege- 
table productions — Convent — Chapel  wainscoted  with  bones — General 
account  of  Madeira — Peak  of  Teneriffe — Marine  animals — Cross  the 
equator — Climate  of  tropics — Luminous  animals  in  the  water — Trade 
winds — Brazilian  fishermen — Sargasso  weed — Rio  harbour  .  Page  1 

CHAPTER  II 

RIO    DE    JANEIRO 

Obstacles  to  landing  —  Viceroy  memorialised  —  Boat's  crew  imprisoned  — 
Vegetation,  etc. — Ship  fired  at — Leave  Rio  harbour — Description  of 
Rio — Churches — Government — Hindrances  to  travellers — Population — 
Military — Assassinations — Vegetables — Fruits — Manu  factures  —  Mines 
—Jewels— Coins— Fortifications— Climate  ....  Page  26 

CHAPTER  III 

RIO    TO    TERRA   DEL   FUEGO 

Birds  —  Christmas  —  Insects  floating  at  sea  —  "  Baye  sans  fond  "  —  Cancer 
gregarius—Fucus  giganteus— Penguins— Terra  del  Fuego— Staten  Island 
— Vegetation — Winter's  bark,  celery — Fuegians — Excursion  inland — 


CONTENTS 


Great  cold  and  snow-storm — Sufferings  of  the  party — Death  of  two  men 
from  cold — Return  to  ship — Shells — Native  huts — General  appearance 
of  the  country — Animals — Plants — Scurvy  grass,  celery — Inhabitants 
and  customs — Language — Food — Arms — Probable  nomadic  habits  — 
Dogs — Climate Page  43 


CHAPTER   IV 

TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE 

Leave  Terra  del  Fuego  —  Cape  Horn  —  Albatross  and  other  birds,  etc.  —  Multi- 
plication of  Dagysa,  —  Cuttlefish  —  Cross  the  line  drawn  by  the  Royal 
Society  between  the  South  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  Tropic  birds  — 
Occultation  of  Saturn  —  Freshness  of  the  water  taken  on  board  at  Terra 
del  Fuego  —  Speculations  respecting  a  southern  continent  —  Marine 
animals  —  Suicide  of  a  marine  —  Scurvy  —  Lemon  juice  —  Lagoon  Island  — 
King  George  III.  Island  —  Means  adopted  for  preventing  the  scurvy  — 
Preserved  cabbage  ........  Page  62 


CHAPTER  V 

OTAHITE 

Reception  by  natives  —  Peace  offerings  and  ceremonies  —  Thieving  —  Natives 
fired  upon  —  Death  of  Mr.  Buchan,  the  artist  —  Lycurgus  and  Hercules  — 
Tents  erected  —  An  honest  native  —  Flies  —  Music  —  A  foreign  axe  found 
—  Thefts  —  Names  of  the  natives  —  The  Dolphin's  Queen  —  Quadrant 
stolen  —  Dootahah  made  prisoner  —  Visit  to  Dootahah  —  Wrestling  — 
Tubourai  offended  —  Natives  at  divine  service  —  Cask  stolen  —  Natives 
swimming  in  surf  —  Imao  —  Transit  of  Venus  —  Nails  stolen  by  sailors  — 
Mourning  —  Previous  visit  of  foreign  ships  —  Banks  takes  part  in  a  native 
funeral  ceremony  —  Travelling  musicians  —  Canoes  seized  for  thefts  —  Dogs 
as  food  —  Circumnavigation  of  the  island  —  Image  of  man  made  of  basket- 
work  —  Gigantic  buildings  (marai)  —  Battlefield  —  Return  to  station  — 
Bread-fruit  —  Excursion  inland  —  Volcanic  nature  of  the  island  —  Seeds 
planted  —  Dismantling  the  fort  —  Banks  engages  a  native  to  go  to 
England  ..........  Page  73 


CHAPTER  VI 

OTAHITE    TO    OHETEROA 

Departure  from  Otahite— Huahine — Ulhietea — God-houses — Boats  and  boat- 
houses —  Otahah  —  Bola-Bola  —  Return  to  Ulhietea  —  Reception  by 
natives — Dancing — Pearls — The  King  of  Bola-Bola — Native  drama — 
Oheteroa — Dress — Arms Page  110 


CONTENTS  xvii 


CHAPTER    VII 

GENERAL   ACCOUNT    OP   THE    SOUTH    SEA   ISLANDS 

Description  of  the  people — Tattowing— Cleanliness— Clothing— Ornaments 
and  head-dress — Houses — Food — Produce  of  the  sea — Fruits — Animals 
— Cooking — Mafiai-making — Drinking  salt  water — Meals — Women  eat 
apart  from  the  men — Pastimes— Music— Attachment  to  old  customs — 
Making  of  cloth  from  bark— Dyes  and  dyeing— Mats— Manufacture  of 
fishing-nets — Fish-hooks — Carpentry,  etc. — Boats  and  boat-building — 
Fighting,  fishing,  and  travelling  ivahahs— Instability  of  the  boats — 
Paddles,  sails,  and  ornaments  —  Pahies  —  Predicting  the  weather — 
Astronomy — Measurement  of  time  and  space — Language — Its  resem- 
blance to  other  languages — Diseases — Medicine  and  surgery — Funeral 
ceremonies — Disposal  of  the  dead — Religion — Origin  of  mankind — Gods 
—  Priests  —  Marriage  —  Marais  —  Bird-  gods  —  Government  —  Ranks  — 
Army  and  battles — Justice Page  127 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SOUTH    SEA    ISLANDS    TO    NEW    ZEALAND    (THAMES    RIVER) 

Waterspout — Comet :  its  effect  on  natives — Diary  at  sea — Condition  of  ship's 
supplies — Port  Egmont  hens — Land  of  New  Zealand  made — A  native 
shot — Conflict  with  natives — Capture  of  a  canoe — Poverty  Bay — Natives 
come  on  board — Their  appearance  and  clothing — Boy  seized  by  natives 
— Appearance  of  the  land— Occupations  of  the  natives — Bracken  as  food 
— Mode  of  fighting— Religion — A  large  canoe — Natives  throw  stones  on 
board — Coast  along  New  Zealand — Habits  of  natives — Transit  of  Mercury 
— Shags — Oysters — Lobster-catching — Heppahs  or  forts — Thames  River 
—Timber  trees Page  179 

CHAPTER  IX 

CIRCUMNAVIGATION    OF   NEW    ZEALAND 

Tattowing — Thieving  of  the  natives— Cannibalism — Rapid  healing  of  shot- 
wounds —  Native  seines  —  Paper  mulberry  —  Native  accounts  of  their 
ancestors'  expedition  to  other  countries — Three  Kings'  Islands — Christ- 
mas Day — Albatross  swimming — Mount  Egmont — Murderers'  Bay — 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound — Threats  of  natives— Corpses  thrown  into  the 
sea — Cannibalism — Singing -birds — Fishing- nets — Human  head  pre- 
served— Discovery  of  Cook's  Straits — Native  names  for  New  Zealand, 
and  traditions— Courteous  native  family— Leave  Queen  Charlotte's 
Sound — Tides — Cape  Turnagain— Coast  along  the  southern  island — 
Banks'  Peninsula — Appearance  of  minerals — Mountains  along  the  west 

coast— Anchor  in  Admiralty  Bay Page  203 

I 


xviii  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  X 

GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 

Its  discovery  by  Tasman — Mountains — Harbours — Cultivation — Trees — Suita- 
bility of  Thames  River  for  colonisation — Climate — Absence  of  native 
quadrupeds  —  Birds  —  Insects — Fish — Plants — Native  and  introduced 
vegetables — Absence  of  fruits — New  Zealand  flax — Population — Qualities 
of  the  natives — Tattowing  and  painting — Dress — Head-dresses — Ear-  and 
nose-ornaments — Houses — Food — Cannibalism  amongst  men — Freedom 
from  disease — Canoes — Carving — Tools — Cloth  fabrics — Nets — Tillage — 
Weapons — Spontoons — War  and  other  songs — Human  trophies — Heppahs 
— Chiefs — Religion — Burial — Language  •  "\  •  •  •  Page  221 


CHAPTER  XI 

NEW    ZEALAND    TO   AUSTRALIA    (ENDEAVOUR    RIVER) 

Choice  of  routes — Reasons  in  favour  of  and  against  the  existence  of  a 
southern  continent — Suggestions  for  a  proposed  expedition  in  search  of 
it — Leave  New  Zealand — Malt  wort — Portuguese  man-of-war  and  its 
sting — Hot  weather — Land  seen — Waterspouts — Variation  of  the  com- 
pass— Natives — Their  indifference  to  the  ship — Opposition  to  landing — 
Excursion  into  the  country — Vegetation  and  animals  seen — Botanising 
— Timidity  of  the  natives — Enormous  sting-rays — Treachery  of  the 
natives — Leave  Botany  Bay — Ants — Stinging  caterpillars — Gum  trees 
— Oysters — Crabs — Figs  impregnated  by  Gynips — East  Indian  plants- 
Ants'  nests — Butterflies — Amphibious  fish — Ship  strikes  on  a  coral  rock 
— Critical  position — Fothering  the  ship — Steadiness  of  the  crew — 
The  ship  taken  into  the  Endeavour  River— Scurvy  .  .  Page  254 


CHAPTER  XII 

AUSTRALIA    (ENDEAVOUR    RIVER)    TO    TORRES    STRAITS 

Pumice-stone — Ship  laid  ashore — Kangooroos  seen — White  ants — Preserving 
plants — Chama  gigas — Fruits  thrown  up  on  the  beach — Excursion  up 
the  country — Making  friends  with  the  Indians — A  kangooroo  killed — 
Turtle — Indians  attempt  to  steal  turtle  and  fire  the  grass — Didelphis — 
Among  the  shoals  and  islands — Lizard  Island — Signs  of  natives  crossing 
from  the  mainland — Ship  passes  through  Cook's  passage — Outside  the 
grand  reef — Ship  almost  driven  on  to  the  reef  by  the  tides — Passes 
inside  the  reef  again  —  Corals  —  Straits  between  Australia  and  New 
Guinea Page  281 


CONTENTS  xix 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SOME    ACCOUNT    OF   THAT    PART    OF   NEW    HOLLAND   NOW    CALLED 
NEW   SOUTH   WALES 

General  appearance  of  the  coast — Dampier's  narrative — Barrenness  of  the 
country — Scarcity  of  water — Vegetables  and  fruits — Timber — Palms — 
Gum  trees — Quadrupeds — Birds — Insects — Ants  and  their  habitations — 
Fish — Turtle — Shell-fish — Scarcity  of  people — Absence  of  cultivation — 
Description  of  natives — Ornaments — Absence  of  vermin — Implements 
for  catching  fish — Food — Cooking — Habitations — Furniture — Vessels 
for  carrying  water — Bags — Tools — Absence  of  sharp  instruments — Native 
method  of  procuring  fire  —  Weapons  —  Throwing  -  sticks —  Shield  — 
Cowardice  of  the  people — Canoes — Climate — Language  .  Page  296 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AUSTRALIA   TO    SAVU    ISLAND 

"Sea-sawdust" — New  Guinea — Landing — Vegetation— Natives  throw  fire- 
darts— Home-sickness  of  the  crew — Coast  along  Timor— Rotte — Aurora— 
Savu  Island — Signs  of  Europeans — A  boat  sent  ashore  to  trade — Anchor 
—  Reception  by  natives — Their  Radja — Mynheer  Lange — House  of 
Assembly — Native  dinner — Obstacles  to  trading — Mynheer  Lange's 
covetousness — Trading— Dutch  policy  concerning  spices  .  Page  324 


CHAPTER  XV 

DESCRIPTION    OF   SAVU 

Mr.  Lange's  account— Political  divisions  of  the  island— Its  general  appear- 
ance—Productions— Buffaloes— Horses— Sheep  —  Fish— Vegetables— 
Fan-palm— Liquor— Sugar-making— Fire-holes  for  cooking— Sustaining 
qualities  of  sugar — Description  of  the  natives — Dress— Ornaments- 
Chewing  betel,  areca,  lime,  and  tobacco — Construction  of  their  houses- 
Looms  and  spinning-machines — Surgery — Religion — Christian  converts 
— Radjas— Slaves— Large  stones  of  honour— Feasts— Military— Weapons 
—Relations  with  the  Dutch— Mynheer  Lange— Language— Neighbour- 
ing islands— Wreck  of  a  French  ship— Dutch  policy  with  regard  to 
language Page  340 


xx  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SAVU    ISLAND    TO    BATAVIA 

Leave  Savu — Arrive  off  Java — European  and  American  news — Formalities 
required  by  Dutch  authorities — Mille  Islands — Batavia  road — Land  at 
Batavia — Prices  and  food  at  the  hotel — Tupia's  impressions  of  Batavia 
— Introduction  to  the  Governor — Malarious  climate — Bougainville's 
visit  to  Batavia — Orders  given  to  heave  down  the  ship — Illness  of 
Tupia,  Dr.  Banks,  Dr.  Solander,  etc. — Death  of  Mr.  Monkhouse,  Tayeto, 
and  Tupia — Remove  to  a  country-house — Malay  women  as  nurses — 
Critical  state  of  Dr.  Solander— Ship  repaired — Captain  Cook  taken  ill — 
Heavy  rains — Frogs  and  mosquitos — Return  to  the  ship  .  Page  362 


CHAPTER  XVII 

DESCRIPTION   OF    BATAVIA 

Situation — Number  of  houses — Streets — Canals — Houses — Public  buildings 
— Fortifications — Castle — Forts  within  the  city — Soldiers — Harbour — 
Islands  and  uses  to  which  they  are  put — Dutch  fleet — Country  round 
Batavia — Thunderstorms — Marshes — Unhealthiness  of  the  climate — 
Fruitfulness  of  the  soil — Cattle,  sheep,  etc. — Wild  animals — Fish — 
Birds — Rice — Mountain  rice — Yegetables — Fruits  :  detailed  description, 
supply  and  consumption  —  Palm- wine  —  Odoriferous  flowers — Spices — 
Population  and  nationalities — Trade — Cheating — Portuguese — Slaves — 
Punishment  of  slaves — Javans — Habits  and  customs — Native  attention 
to  the  hair  and  teeth — Running  amoc — Native  superstitions — Crocodiles 
as  twin  brothers  to  men — Chinese :  their  habits,  mode  of  living,  and 
burial — Government — Officials — Justice — Taxation — Money  .  Page  377 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE 

Leave  Batavia — Cracatoa — Mosquitos  on  board  ship — Prince's  Island — 
Visit  the  town — Account  of  Prince's  Island — Produce — Religion — Nuts 
of  Gycas  circinalis — Town — Houses — Bargaining — Language — Affinity 
of  Malay,  Madagascar,  and  South  Sea  Islands  languages — Leave  Prince's 
Island — Sickness  on  board — Deaths  of  Mr.  Sporing,  Mr.  Parkinson,  Mr. 
Green,  and  many  others — Coast  of  Natal — Dangerous  position  of  the 
ship — Cape  of  Good  Hope — Dr.  Solander's  illness — French  ships — 
Bougainville's  voyage  . Page  417 


CONTENTS  xxi 


CHAPTER  XIX 

CAPE  OP  GOOD  HOPE  TO  ENGLAND 

Account  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — Its  settlement  by  the  Dutch — Cape 
Town — Dutch  customs — Government — Climate — General  healthiness — 
Animals — Wines  —  Cost  of  living  —  Botanical  garden  —  Menagerie  — 
Settlements  in  the  interior — Barrenness  of  the  country — Hottentots  : 
their  appearance,  language,  dancing,  customs,  etc. — Money — Leave 
Table  Bay — Eobben  Island — St.  Helena— Volcanic  rocks — Cultivation 
—  Provisions  —  Introduced  plants  —  Natural  productions  —  Ebony  — 
Speculations  as  to  how  plants  and  animals  originally  reached  so  remote 
an  island — Leave  St.  Helena — Ascension  Island — Ascension  to  England 
—Land  at  Deal Page  432 

APPENDIX  :  ELECTRICITY Page  453 

INDEX  Page  459 


PORTRAITS 

Sm  JOSEPH  BANKS Frontispiece 

DR.  D.  SOLANDER  To  face  page  xxxviii 


CHARTS 

THE  WORLD,  showing  the  track  of  the  Endeavour        .        .At  end  of  book 

SOCIETY  ISLANDS » 

NEW  ZEALAND    .....-•••  » 

MELANESIA         .....••••  »» 

EAST  INDIAN  ARCHIPELAGO " 


BIOGKAPHICAL   SKETCHES 


SIK  JOSEPH  BANKS1 

THE  name  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks  is  pre-eminent  amongst  the 
many  distinguished  scientific  men  who  adorned  the  long 
reign  of  George  the  Third,  and  his  career  practically  coincides 
with  the  reign  of  that  monarch,  closing  in  the  same  year. 
The  hold  he  has  always  had  on  popular  estimation  is  per- 
haps less  due  to  his  high  position  in  the  royal  favour,  or 
his  long  tenancy  of  the  presidential  chair  of  the  Eoyal 
Society,  than  to  the  prominent  part  he  took  in  the  voyage 
of  H.M.S.  Endeavour  under  Lieutenant  Cook,  and  his  con- 
tributions to  Hawkesworth's  account  of  it.  Cook's  story  is 
that  of  a  sailor,  and  his  account  of  his  discoveries  is  rendered 
more  attractive  by  the  introduction  of  passages  from  the 
more  graphic  pages  of  Banks's  Diary :  it  is  these  passages 
which  attracted  so  much  attention  in  the  narrative  drawn 
up  by  Dr.  Hawkesworth.  Cook's  own  Journal,  recently 
published  by  Admiral  Wharton,  shows  this  very  clearly,  and 
the  naturalist's  own  record  of  their  discoveries  and  adven- 
tures is  now  for  the  first  time  given  to  the  public. 

Joseph  Banks  was  born  in  Argyle  Street,  London,  on 
2nd  February  1*743  (o.s.).  He  was  the  son  of  William  Banks 
(sometime  Sheriff  of  Lincolnshire  and  M.P.  for  Peterborough), 
of  Eevesby  Abbey,  Lincolnshire,  a  gentleman  of  some  fortune, 
due  to  his  father's  successful  practice  of  medicine  in  that 

1  No  adequate  Life  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks  having  as  yet  appeared,  the  com- 
piler of  the  following  notes  is  indebted  mainly  for  his  information  to  Weld's 
History  of  the  Royal  Society,  Sir  John  Barrow's  Sketches  of  the  Royal  Society 
and  the  Royal  Society  Club,  to  Mr.  B.  Daydon  Jackson's  article  on  Banks  in 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  and  to  scattered  incidental  notices. 


xxiv  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

county.  At  the  age  of  nine  he  was  sent  to  Harrow,  and 
four  years  later  was  transferred  to  Eton,  where  he  displayed 
an  extreme  aversion  from  study,  especially  of  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  an  inordinate  love  of  all  kinds  of  energetic 
sports.  It  was  while  he  was  here  that  he  was  first  attracted 
to  the  study  of  botany,  and  having  no  better  instructor  he 
paid  some  women — "  cullers  of  simples,"  as  Sir  Joseph  him- 
self afterwards  called  them — who  were  employed  in  gather- 
ing plants,  for  which  he  paid  them  sixpence  for  each  article 
they  collected  and  brought  to  him.  During  his  holidays  he 
found  on  his  mother's  dressing-table  an  old  torn  copy  of 
Gerard's  Herbal,  having  the  names  and  figures  of  some  of 
the  plants  with  which  he  had  formed  an  imperfect  acquaint- 
ance ;  and  he  carried  it  back  with  him  to  school.  "While  at 
Eton  he  made  considerable  collections  of  plants  and  insects. 
He  also  made  many  excursions  in  company  with  the  father  of 
the  great  Lord  Brougham,  who  describes  him  as  a  fine-looking, 
strong,  and  healthy  boy,  whom  no  fatigue  could  subdue,  and 
no  peril  daunt. 

He  left  Eton  when  seventeen  to  be  inoculated  for  the 
small-pox,  and  on  his  recovery  he  went  up  to  Oxford,  entering 
as  a  gentleman  commoner  at  Christ  Church.  Prior  to  this, 
however,  after  his  father's  death  in  1761,  he  had  resided 
with  his  mother  at  Chelsea,  where  he  had  availed  himself 
of  the  then  famous  botanical  garden  of  the  Apothecaries' 
Company.  He  found  himself  unable  to  get  any  teaching  in 
botany  at  Oxford,  but  obtaining  leave,  he  proceeded  to  Cam- 
bridge and  returned  with  Israel  Lyons,1  the  astronomer  and 
botanist,  under  whom  a  class  was  formed.  In  December 
1763  he  left  Oxford  with  an  honorary  degree,  and  coming 
of  age  in  the  year  following,  found  himself  possessed  of  an 
ample  fortune,  which  enabled  him  to  devote  himself  entirely 
to  the  study  of  natural  science.  At  this  time  also  he 
formed  a  friendship  with  Lord  Sandwich,  a  neighbouring 
landowner,  both  being  devoted  to  hunting  and  other  field 
sports.  The  two  are  credited  with  having  formed  a  project 

1  Afterwards  calculator  for  the  Nautical  Almanac,  and,  owing  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Banks,  astronomer  to  Captain  Phipps'  Polar  Voyage  in  1773. 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS  xxv 

to  drain  the  Serpentine,  in  order  to  obtain  some  light  on 
the  fishes  it  contained. 

In  May  1766  he  was  elected  F.K.S.,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-three,  and  in  the  summer  of  that  year  accompanied 
his  friend  Lieutenant  Phipps  (afterwards  Lord  Mulgrave)  to 
Newfoundland,  where  he  investigated  the  Flora  of  that  then 
botanically  unknown  island,  returning  next  year  by  way  of 
Lisbon.  His  journal  of  the  trip  is  preserved  in  manuscript 
in  the  British  Museum.  After  his  return  home,  he  became 
acquainted  with  Dr.  Solander,  of  whom  a  brief  notice  is 
appended,  and  with  whom  he  was  closely  connected  until 
the  death  of  the  latter. 

Shortly  after  the  accession  of  George  III.,  several  ships 
had  been  sent  to  the  Southern  Seas  in  the  interest  of 
geographical  science.  Commodore  Byron  sailed  in  1764, 
Captains  Wallis  and  Carteret  in  1766,  and  these  had  no 
sooner  returned  than  the  Government  resolved  to  fit  out  an 
expedition  to  the  island  of  Tahiti,  or,  as  it  was  then  called, 
Otahite,  under  Lieutenant  James  Cook,  in  order  to  observe 
the  transit  of  Venus  in  1769.  Mr.  Banks  decided  to  avail 
himself  of  this  opportunity  of  exploring  the  unknown 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  applied  to  his  friend  Lord  Sandwich,  then 
at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty,  for  leave  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion. At  his  own  expense,  stated  by  Ellis  to  be  £10,000, 
he  furnished  all  the  stores  needed  to  make  complete  collec- 
tions in  every  branch  of  natural  science,  and  engaged  Dr. 
Solander,  four  draughtsmen  or  artists,  and  a  staff  of  servants 
(or  nine  in  all)  to  accompany  him. 

The  adventures  of  Banks  and  his  companions  on  this 
voyage  in  the  Endeavour  are  told  in  the  diary  which  is  the 
main  object  of  this  volume.  It  will  be  enough  here  to  point 
out  his  untiring  activity,  whether  in  observing  or  collecting 
animals  and  plants,  investigating  and  recording  native  customs 
and  languages,  bartering  for  necessaries  with  the  inhabitants, 
preventing  the  pillaging  to  which  the  expedition  was 
frequently  subjected,  or  in  the  hazardous  chase  of  the  stolen 
quadrant  in  the  interior  of  Otahite. 

In  July  1771  the  travellers  returned  with  an  immense 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


amount  of  material,  the  botanical  part  of  which  was  for  the 
most  part  already  described,  and  needed  but  little  to  pre- 
pare it  for  the  press.  The  descriptive  tickets,  which  had 
been  drawn  up  by  Solander,  were  arranged  in  systematic 
order  in  what  are  still  known  as  "Solander  cases,"  and 
transcribed  fairly  by  an  amanuensis  for  publication.  About 
700  plates  were  engraved  on  copper  in  folio  at  Banks's  ex- 
pense, and  a  few  prints  or  proofs  were  taken,  but  they  were 
never  published.  Five  folio  books  of  neat  manuscript,  and 
the  coppers,  rest  in  the  hands  of  the  trustees  of  the  British 
Museum.  The  question  arises,  why  were  they  never 
utilised  ?  The  descriptions  were  ready  long  before  Solander's 
death,  although  the  plants  collected  in  Australia  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  added  to  the  fair  copies,  and  the  plates 
were  mainly  outlines.  This  has  always  been  regarded  as  an 
insoluble  problem,  but  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter 
written  by  Banks  very  shortly  before  Solander  died,  may 
be  accepted  as  evidence  of  his  intention  to  publish.  The 
letter  from  which  the  extract  is  taken  is  undated,  and  takes 
the  shape  of  a  draft  without  any  name,  but  it  is  a  reply  to  a 
letter  addressed  to  Banks  by  Hasted,  who  was  then  collect- 
ing materials  for  the  second  edition  of  his  history  of  the 
county  of  Kent. 

Botany  has  been  my  favourite  science  since  my  childhood  ;  and  the 
reason  I  have  not  published  the  account  of  my  travels  is  that  the  first 
from  want  of  time  necessarily  brought  on  by  the  many  preparations  for 
my  second  voyage  was  entrusted  to  Dr.  Hawkesworth,  and  since  that 
I  have  been  engaged  in  a  botanical  work,  which  I  hope  soon  to  publish, 
as  I  have  near  700  folio  plates  prepared  ;  it  is  to  give  an  account  of 
all  such  new  plants  discovered  in  my  voyage  round  the  world,  some- 
what above  800. 

Hasted's  letter,  to  which  this  is  an  answer,  was  dated 
25th  February  1*782,  little  more  than  two  months  before 
Solander's  death  (alluded  to  on  a  subsequent  page),  an  event 
which  has  generally  been  accepted  as  determining  the  fate 
of  the  intended  publication. 

But  we  must  now  go  back  a  few  years.  In  1772  pre- 
parations were  made  for  a  second  expedition  under  Cook  in 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


the  Resolution,  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  the  existence, 
or  the  contrary,  of  an  Antarctic  continent,  and  Lord  Sandwich 
invited  Banks  to  accompany  it  as  naturalist,  to  which  he 
readily  consented.  Towards  this  new  venture  he  made  elabo- 
rate preparations,  on  a  scale  for  which  even  his  ample  fortune 
did  not  suffice,  for  he  had  to  raise  money  to  complete  his  out- 
fit.1 Various  surmises  or  explanations  have  been  advanced 
to  account  for  Banks's  abandonment  of  his  intention  to  pro- 
ceed on  this  voyage ;  amongst  others  it  has  been  said  that 
Cook  raised  difficulties  concerning  the  accommodation  ;  and  it 
is  stated  that  Banks's  equipment  would  have  necessitated 
the  addition  of  a  poop-deck  on  the  vessel  destined  for  the 
voyage,  which  would  have  materially  interfered  with  its 
sailing  powers.  But  the  reason  given  by  Sir  John  Barrow, 
who  was  for  many  years  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty,  is  no 
doubt  the  correct  one.  He  states  (Sketches  of  the  Royal 
Society,  p.  26)  that  "  such  a  system  was  adopted  by  the  Navy 
Board  to  thwart  every  step  of  his  proceedings,  especially  on 
the  part  of  its  chief,  the  Comptroller  of  the  Navy,  Sir  Hugh 
Palliser,  whereby  his  patience  was  worn  out,  and  his  indig- 
nation so  far  excited  as  to  cause  him,  though  reluctantly, 
to  abandon  this  enterprise  altogether."  It  may  be  incident- 
ally mentioned  that  the  great  chemist  Priestley,  whom  Banks 
had  invited  to  join  the  expedition  (on  advantageous  terms, 
including  a  provision  for  his  family),  was  also  objected  to, 
in  his  case  on  account  of  religious  principles,  by  the  Board  of 
Longitude.  Although  thus  bitterly  disappointed,  Banks  never- 
theless used  his  utmost  endeavour  to  promote  the  objects  of  the 
voyage ;  and  that  there  was  no  personal  bitterness  between 
Banks  and  Cook  seems  certain  from  the  following  extract  from 
a  hasty  note  by  Solander  to  Banks  after  Cook's  return : — 

Two  o'clock,  Monday,  14th  August  1775. 

This  moment  Captain  Cook  is  arrived.  I  have  not  yet  had  an 
opportunity  of  conversing  with  him,  as  he  is  still  in  the  Board-room 

1  The  last  few  cases  of  specimen  bottles  prepared  for  this  voyage  were  not 
utilised  until  they  were  transferred  by  Robert  Brown  to  the  editor  of  this 
"Journal,"  when  the  latter  was  preparing  to  accompany  Captain  James  Ross 
on  his  voyage  to  the  Antarctic  Ocean  in  1839. 


xxviii  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

giving  an  account  of   himself  and  company.       He  looks  as  well  as 
ever. 

Captain  Cook  desires  his  best  compliments  to  you ;  he  expressed 
himself  in  the  most  friendly  manner  towards  you  that  could  be  ;  he 
said,  "Nothing  could  have  added  to  the  satisfaction  he  has  had  in 
making  this  tour,  but  having  had  your  company."  He  has  some 
birds  in  spr.  v.  [spirits  of  wine]  for  you,  etc.  etc. 

Thus  baulked  of  their  design,  Banks  and  Solander  set  out 
on  a  scientific  expedition  to  Iceland  in  a  vessel  specially 
chartered  for  them  at  a  cost  of  £100  a  month.  They  sailed 
on  the  12th  July  1772,  and  on  the  way  Banks  carried 
out  an  intention  he  had  formed  to  visit  Staffa,  to  which  he 
was  the  first  to  draw  the  attention  of  scientific  men,  sending 
a  complete  description,  with  drawings  and  measurements, 
to  Thomas  Pennant,  who  inserted  it  in  his  Tour  to  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland.  They  spent  a  month  in  Iceland, 
exploring  Mount  Hecla,  the  geysers,  and  other  remarkable 
features  of  the  island.  Banks  made  copious  observations, 
which  Dr.  Troil,  one  of  the  party,  and  afterwards  Arch- 
bishop of  Upsala,  included  in  his  interesting  account  of  the 
island,  without,  however,  according  to  Barrow,  doing  full 
justice  to  the  exertions  of  Banks  and  his  companions,  whom 
he  dismisses  with  a  too  vague  and  general  eulogium.  Banks 
also  afterwards  placed  his  MS.  journal  at  the  disposal  of 
Sir  William  Hooker,  whom  he  had  advised  to  visit  the 
island  for  scientific  purposes,  and  who  made  copious  use  of 
it,  with  due  acknowledgment,  in  his  Tour  in  Iceland. 

Banks  always  continued  to  take  a  keen  interest  in  the 
Icelanders,  and  his  humanity  "  was  of  signal  service  to  these 
poor  creatures ;  for  when,  some  years  afterwards,  they  were 
in  a  state  of  famine,  the  benevolence  and  powerful  interest 
of  this  kind-hearted  man  brought  about  the  adoption  of 
measures  which  absolutely  saved  the  inhabitants  from  star- 
vation. "We  were  at  war  with  Denmark,  and  had  captured 
the  Danish  ships,  and  no  provisions  could  be  received  into 
Iceland.  Clausen,  a  merchant,  was  sent  to  England  to 
implore  the  granting  of  licences  for  ships  to  enter  the  island, 
and  through  the  active  intervention  of  Sir  Joseph,  who,  as 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


a  Privy  Councillor,  was  an  honorary  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  the  indulgence  was  granted"  (Barrow,  loc.  cit.  p.  29). 
That  Banks  contemplated  a  voyage  to  the  North  Pole 
appears  from  a  statement  by  Barrow  that  he  announced 
such  an  intention  at  a  meeting  of  the  Batavian  Society  at 
Eotterdam  in  1773,  when  he  desired  to  be  put  in  possession 
of  such  discoveries  and  observations  as  had  been  made  by 
the  Dutch,  promising  to  acquaint  them  with  any  discoveries 
he  might  make  in  the  course  of  such  a  voyage. 

,  On  his  return  from  Iceland,  Banks  settled  in  Soho 
Square,  where  he  accumulated  a  magnificent  library  (as 
well  as  at  Eevesby  Abbey)  and  large  collections,  the  whole 
being  arranged  in  the  most  methodical  manner.  These 
business-like  habits  formed  a  marked  feature  in  everything 
he  undertook  throughout  his  life,  as  to  which  interesting 
testimony  is  afforded  by  Barrow,  who,  during  a  visit  shortly 
before  Banks's  death,  was  shown  his  papers  and  correspond- 
ence carefully  assorted  and  labelled.  In  this  he  received 
considerable  assistance  from  his  successive  librarians, 
Solander  and  Dryander. 

On  the  resignation  of  Sir  John  Pringle  in  November 
1778,  Banks  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  President  of 
the  Eoyal  Society,  an  honour  for  which  he  had  incontest- 
able claims,  in  his  many  sacrifices  to  science  in  all  climates 
during  the  voyages  to  Newfoundland,  round  the  world  with 
Cook,  and  to  Iceland,  in  his  ardent  love  of  natural  science, 
his  many  accomplishments,  his  wealth  and  social  position, 
his  habitual  intercourse  with  the  king  and  with  the  heads 
of  public  departments  whose  influence  was  greatest  for  the 
furtherance  of  scientific  research,  and,  above  all,  perhaps,  in 
the  disinterestedness  with  which  he  placed  his  collections 
and  library  at  the  disposal  of  all  applicants  of  merit,  and 
in  the  expenditure  of  his  wealth. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  claims  on  the  votes  of  the 
Fellows  of  the  Society,  Banks  was  not  destined  to  retain 
tranquil  possession  of  the  Presidency,  and  two  or  three 
circumstances,  arising  out  of  the  zeal  with  which  he  dis- 
charged his  duties,  made  him  several  enemies.  One  of 


xxx  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

these  causes  was  his  action  with  regard  to  the  election  of 
Fellows.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  any  scrutiny  of  the 
claims  of  the  candidates  proposed  for  the  Fellowship,  Banks 
announced  his  intention  of  performing  this  office  himself, 
and  of  making  known  his  views  concerning  each  proposal 
to  the  Council  and  Fellows.  This  measure,  which  created 
considerable  dissatisfaction  amongst  a  certain  section  of  the 
Fellows,  was  nevertheless  necessary,  owing  to  the  recent 
election  of  numerous  candidates  of  no  scientific  merit  what- 
ever. "  D'Alembert,  in  allusion  to  the  extreme  prodigality 
with  which  the  honours  of  the  Fellowship  were  distributed, 
was  in  use  to  ask  jocularly  any  person  going  to  England,  if 
he  desired  to  be  made  a  Member,  as  he  could  easily  obtain 
it  for  him,  should  he  think  it  any  honour.  .  .  .  Upon  this 
subject  Lord  Brougham  says :  '  Two  principles  were  laid 
down  by  him  [Banks] ;  first,  that  any  person  who  had 
successfully  cultivated  science,  especially  by  original  inves- 
tigations, should  be  admitted,  whatever  might  be  his  rank 
or  fortune ;  secondly,  that  men  of  wealth,  or  station,  disposed 
to  promote,  adorn,  and  patronise  science,  should,  but  with 
due  caution  and  deliberation,  be  allowed  to  enter ' "  (Weld's 
History  of  the  Royal  Society}. 

A  crisis  was,  however,  brought  about  by  the  following 
circumstance.  The  Council,  under  the  influence,  it  is  said, 
of  the  President,  passed  a  resolution  recommending  that  the 
Foreign  Secretary  should  reside  in  London ;  and  this 
measure  was  followed  by  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Hutton,  then 
Foreign  Secretary,  and  Professor  at  Woolwich,  who,  it  was 
complained,  had  neglected  his  duties  as  secretary  of  the 
Society.  Dr.  Horsley,  afterwards  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph, 
attacked  the  President  in  very  bitter  terms,  lamenting  that 
the  chair  which  had  been  filled  by  Newton  should  be  thus 
lowered  in  dignity,  and  predicting  all  kinds  of  disasters  as 
the  direct  consequence  of  electing  a  naturalist  as  President. 
He  induced  several  influential  members  to  follow  him,  but 
when  the  fact  became  clear,  as  it  soon  did,  that  he  desired 
the  reversion  of  the  chair  for  himself,  his  influence  declined  ; 
he  withdrew  from  the  Society  with  a  few  intimates,  and 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS  xxxi 

Banks  remained  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  chair  till 
his  death  in  1820. 

The  excellent  qualities  of  the  President  whom  this 
victory  kept  in  the  chair  were  clearly  exhibited  by 
the  temper  with  which  he  regarded  the  opposition.  The 
sketch  of  his  character  (says  Barrow)  given  by  Lord 
Brougham  is  true  to  the  life :  "  He  showed  no  jealousy  of 
any  rival,  no  prejudice  in  anybody's  favour  rather  than 
another's.  He  was  equally  accessible  to  all  for  counsel 
and  help.  His  house,  his  library,  his  whole  valuable  collec- 
tions, were  at  all  times  open  to  men  of  science,  while  his 
credit  both  with  our  own  and  foreign  Governments,  and,  if 
need  were,  the  resource  of  his  purse,  were  ever  ready  to  help 
in  the  prosecution  of  their  inquiries." 

One  of  the  earliest  official  acts  of  the  new  President 
was  a  proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  held  his  late 
fellow-voyager  Cook.  On  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1779, 
Banks  proposed  to  the  Council  that  a  medal  should  be 
struck  as  a  mark  of  the  high  sense  entertained  by  the 
Society  of  the  importance  of  his  extensive  discoveries  in 
different  parts  of  the  globe,  the  cost  being  defrayed  by 
subscription  among  the  Fellows.  The  medal,  designed  by 
L.  Pingo,  bears  a  portrait  of  the  great  navigator  in  profile 
on  the  obverse,  with  a  representation  of  Britannia  pointing 
to  the  south  pole  of  a  globe  on  the  reverse. 

Amongst  other  noteworthy  services  rendered  by  Banks 
in  his  capacity  as  President  of  the  Eoyal  Society,  the 
following  may  be  mentioned.  In  1784  the  Council  obtained 
the  permission  of  George  III.  to  commence  a  geodetical 
survey  under  General  Koy :  this  served  as  the  basis  of  the 
Ordnance  Survey.  In  the  following  year  he  made  successful 
application  to  the  king  to  guarantee  the  cost  (amounting 
to  £4000)  of  Sir  William  Herschel's  40 -foot  telescope. 
He  served  on  a  committee  of  the  Society  appointed,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  ascertain  the  length  of 
the  pendulum  vibrating  seconds  of  time  at  various  localities 
in  Great  Britain.  In  1817  the  Council  at  his  suggestion 
recommended  Government  to  fit  out  an  Arctic  expedition : 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


as  a  result,  two  were  sent,  the  one  under  Captain  John 
Eoss  in  search  of  the  North- West  Passage  ;  the  other,  which 
included  Franklin,  to  sail  northwards  by  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland. 

He  was  on  several  occasions  invited  to  stand  for  Parlia- 
ment, but  always  declined,  preferring  to  devote  his  entire 
time  to  his  duties  as  President  of  the  Eoyal  Society,  and 
to  the  innumerable  functions  it  entailed. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  Banks  viewed  with  strong 
disapproval  the  formation  of  other  societies  for  the  pursuit 
of  natural  science.  This  was  certainly  so  in  the  case  of  the 
Astronomical  Society,  which  he  considered  would  seriously 
decrease  the  importance  of  that  over  which  he  himself 
presided.  But  this  was  only  because  he  conceived  the 
objects  of  the  former  association  to  be  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  those  of  the  Eoyal  Society  that  there  would 
not  be  sufficient  scope  for  both.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Linnean  Society  in  1788, 
and  took  an  even  more  prominent  part  in  the  formation  of 
the  Eoyal  Institution  in  1*799. 

In  March  1*779  he  married  Dorothea,  daughter  of 
William  Western  Hugessen,  Esq.,  of  Provender,  Kent.  In 
1782  Solander  died,  and  from  that  time  onward  Banks 
became  more  and  more  absorbed  in  the  duties  of  the  Eoyal 
Society,  and  acted  as  chief  counsellor  in  all  scientific  matters 
to  the  king.  In  this  capacity  he  had  virtual  control  of  the 
Eoyal  Gardens  at  Kew,  then  under  the  cultural  care  of 
the  elder  Aiton,  where  were  raised  the  plants  produced  by 
seeds  brought  home  by  himself,  and  so  many  of  the  novelties 
described  in  I'He'ritier's  Sertum  Anglicum,  Aiton's  Hortus 
Kewensis,  and  other  botanical  works.  It  was  due  to  his 
indefatigable  exertions  and  representations  that  the  Eoyal 
Gardens  at  Kew  were  raised  to  the  position  of  the  first  in 
the  world,  and  that  collectors  were  sent  to  the  West  Indies, 
the  Cape  Colonies,  and  Australia,  to  send  home  living  plants 
and  seeds,  and  herbaria,  for  the  Eoyal  Gardens.  He  kept 
Francis  Bauer  (who,  and  his  brother  Ferdinand,  were  the  most 
accomplished  botanical  artists  of  the  century)  at  Kew  con- 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS  xxxiii 

stantly  occupied  in  making  drawings  of  Australian  and  other 
plants,  keeping  him  in  liberal  pay,  and  leaving  him  a  legacy 
in  his  will. 

He  was  the  first  to  bring  indiarubber  into  notice,  and 
early  advocated  the  cultivation  of  tea  in  India.  He  estab- 
lished botanic  gardens  in  Jamaica,  St.  Vincent,  and  Ceylon, 
besides  giving  invaluable  support  to  Colonel  Kyd  in  the 
foundation  of  the  garden  at  Sibpur,  near  Calcutta. 

He  was  a  keen  agriculturist,  and  amongst  his  very  few 
published  writings  one  is  on  Blight  Mildew  and  Eust, 
another  on  the  introduction  of  the  Potato,  and  a  third  on 
the  Apple  Aphis.  The  Horticultural  Society  was  founded 
in  1804,  and  Banks  is  named  as  one  of  the  persons  to 
whom  the  Charter  was  granted  in  1809.  The  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  this  Society  is  shown  by  their  electing 
him  an  honorary  member,  and  by  their  instituting,  after  his 
death,  a  Banksian  medal. 

Services  of  an  international  character  were  rendered  by 
him  when,  in  the  course  of  war,  the  collections  of  foreign 
naturalists  had  been  captured  by  British  vessels ;  on  no  less 
than  eleven  occasions  were  they  restored  to  their  former 
owners  through  the  direct  intervention  of  Banks  with  the 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  and  Treasury.  The  disinterestedness 
of  such  a  course  will  be  at  once  understood  when  it  is 
remembered  that  these  collections,  some  of  them  of  inestim- 
able value  (now  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Paris),  would 
otherwise  have  contributed  to  the  aggrandisement  of  his 
own  magnificent  museum.  "  He  even  sent  as  far  as  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  procure  some  chests  belonging  to 
Humboldt ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  his  active  exertions 
liberated  many  scientific  men  from  foreign  prisons.  He 
used  great  exertions  to  mitigate  the  captivity  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Flinders,  and  it  was  principally  by  his  intercession 
that  our  Government  issued  orders  in  favour  of  La  Perouse  " 
(Weld's  History  of  the  Eoyal  Society). 

Great  as  his  services  to  science  are  known  to  have  been, 
these  will  never  be  fully  realised  till  his  correspondence  in 
the  British  Museum  and  elsewhere  shall  have  been  thor- 


XXXIV 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


oughly  searched.  That  they  were  not  confined  to  natural 
history  is  evident.  He  was  an  assiduous  promoter  of  the 
Association  for  the  Exploration  of  Tropical  Africa,  and  it 
was  under  his  auspices  that  Mungo  Park,  Clapperton,  and 
others  were  sent  out.  He  was  one  of  a  committee  to 
investigate  the  subject  of  lightning  conductors.  His  letters 
to  Josiah  Wedgwood  show  his  keen  appreciation  not  only 
of  the  work  of  the  great  potter,  but  of  his  other  ingenious 
contrivances ;  among  the  mass  of  papers  left  by  him  on  his 
death  was  an  illustrated  dissertation  on  the  history  and 
art  of  the  manufacture  of  porcelain  by  the  Chinese.  He 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  coinage,  and  was  in  close  com- 
munication with  Matthew  Boulton  on  questions  of  minting. 
On  applying  for  information  on  this  latter  point  to  Dr. 
Eoberts- Austen,  that  gentleman  informed  the  editor  that, 
though  not  officially  an  officer  of  the  Mint,  Banks  had 
probably  served  on  some  departmental  or  Parliamentary 
commissions  charged  with  mint  questions ;  and  further, 
that  he  had  presented  the  mint  with  a  really  fine  library, 
embracing  all  the  books  it  possessed  relating  to  numismatics 
and  coinage  questions  generally,  together  with  a  valuable 
collection  of  coins.  In  reference  to  this,  the  editor  has  also 
found,  on  looking  over  some  Banksian  MS.  in  the  British 
Museum,  that  these  included  a  draft  code  of  regulations  for 
the  conduct  of  the  officers  of  the  Mint. 

His  interest  in  manufactures  was  also  constant ;  could 
his  letters  be  brought  together,  a  flood  of  light  would  thereby 
be  thrown  upon  the  progress  of  arts  and  sciences  in  Europe 
during  his  long  tenure  of  the  presidency  of  the  Royal  Society. 

As  an  instance  of  his  zeal  for  science  may  be  mentioned 
the  interest  he  took  in  Sir  Charles  Blagden's  experiments  to 
determine  the  power  of  human  beings  to  exist  in  rooms 
heated  to  an  excessive  temperature.  Sir  Joseph  Banks  was 
one  of  the  first  who  plunged  into  a  chamber  heated  to  the 
temperature  of  260°  Fahr.,  and  was  taken  out  nearly  ex- 
hausted. It  may  be  mentioned  that  Sir  Francis  Chantrey 
once  remained  two  minutes  in  a  furnace  at  a  temperature  of 
320°. 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS  xxxv 

For  a  man  of  his  distinction  the  dignities  which  were 
conferred  upon  him  by  royal  favour  seem  disproportionate. 
He  was  created  a  Baronet  in  1781,  a  Knight  of  the  Bath 
in  1*795,  and  two  years  subsequently  was  sworn  of  the 
Privy  Council.  In  1802  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  eight 
foreign  members  of  the  French  Acade"mie  des  Sciences,  in 
Paris. 

To  the  last  his  house,  library,  and  museum  were  open 
to  all  scientific  men,  of  whatever  nationality,  and  the  ser- 
vices of  his  successive  librarians,  Solander,  Dryander,  and 
Brown,  cannot  be  over-estimated.  His  Thursday  breakfasts 
and  Sunday  soirees  in  Soho  Square  made  his  house  the  centre 
of  influential  gatherings  of  an  informal  kind ;  curiosities 
of  every  description  were  brought  by  visitors  and  exhibited, 
and  each  new  subject,  book,  drawing,  animal,  plant,  or 
mineral,  each  invention  of  art  or  science,  was  sure  to  find 
its  way  to  Sir  Joseph's  house.  It  was  at  one  of  these 
parties  that  he  strongly  recommended  the  acquisition  of  the 
Linnean  Library  and  collections  to  James  Edward  Smith, 
a  young  Norwich  physician,  and  an  ardent  botanist.  This 
was  the  turning-point  of  Smith's  life,  and  led  to  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Linnean  Society,  which  held  its  meetings  for 
many  years,  during  the  lifetime  of  Eobert  Brown,  in  Banks's 
house  in  Soho  Square,  where  the  Linnean  collections  were 
placed  previous  to  the  Society's  removal  to  apartments 
provided  by  Government  in  Burlington  House. 

Sir  Joseph  Banks  became  latterly  a  great  martyr  to  the 
gout,  "  which  grew  to  such  an  intensity  as  to  deprive  him 
entirely  of  the  power  of  walking,  and  for  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  previous  to  his  death,  he  lost  the  use  of  his  lower 
limbs  so  completely  as  to  oblige  him  to  be  carried,  or 
wheeled,  as  the  case  might  require,  by  his  servants  in  a 
chair :  in  this  way  he  was  conveyed  to  the  more  dignified 
chair  of  the  Koyal  Society,  and  also  to  the  [Eoyal  Society] 
Club — the  former  of  which  he  very  rarely  omitted  to  attend, 
and  not  often  the  latter ;  he  sat  apparently  so  much  at  his 
ease,  both  at  the  Society  and  in  the  Club,  and  conducted  the 
business  of  the  meetings  with  so  much  spirit  and  dignity, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


that  a  stranger  would  not  have  supposed  that  he  was  often 
suffering  at  the  time,  nor  even  have  observed  an  infirmity, 
which  never  disturbed  his  uniform  cheerfulness. 

"  As  the  gout  increased  his  difficulty  of  locomotion,  Sir 
Joseph  found  it  convenient  to  have  some  spot  to  retire  to 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  and  fixed  upon  a  small 
villa  near  Hounslow  Heath,  called  Spring  Grove,  consisting 
of  some  woods  and  a  good  garden  laid  out  with  ornamental 
shrubs  and  flower-beds,  and  neatly  kept  under  the  inspection 
of  Lady  and  Miss  Banks "  (his  sister)  [Barrow,  loc.  cit. 
pp.  40-42].  Since  his  death  the  building  has  been  pulled 
down  and  replaced  by  a  mansion  now  in  the  possession  of 
A.  Pears,  Esq. 

The  last  occasion  on  which  Banks  took  the  chair  at  the 
Eoyal  Society  was  on  16th  March  1820.  In  May,  declining 
health  led  him  to  announce  his  resignation  of  the  Presidency, 
which  he  had  held  for  over  forty-one  years  ;  but  the  universal 
desire  which  was  expressed,  both  by  the  Council  of  the 
Society  and  by  the  king  himself,  that  he  would  retain  the 
office,  induced  him  to  withdraw  his  resignation.  He  died, 
however,  very  shortly  afterwards  at  Spring  Grove,  on  the 
19th  June  1820,  leaving  a  widow  but  no  lineal  issue. 

He  was  buried  at  Heston,  Middlesex,  in  which  parish 
Spring  Grove  is  situated.  The  church  has  since  been 
rebuilt,  and  now  covers  the  spot  where  he  was  buried.  A 
tablet  with  a  simple  inscription  marks  as  nearly  as  possible 
the  place  where  his  body  lies.  By  his  will  he  expressly 
desires  that  his  body  be  interred  in  the  most  private  manner 
in  the  church  or  churchyard  of  the  parish  in  which  he 
should  happen  to  die,  and  entreats  his  dear  relatives  to 
spare  themselves  the  affliction  of  attending  the  ceremony, 
and  earnestly  requests  that  they  will  not  erect  any  monu- 
ment to  his  memory. 

In  July  of  the  same  year  the  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Society 
resolved  to  erect  a  full-length  marble  statue  of  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  to  be  executed  by  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Francis) 
Chantrey.  A  sum  of  £2000  was  subscribed,  of  which  £525 
was  paid  to  the  sculptor,  the  surplus  being  devoted  to  an 


SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS  xxxvii 

engraving  of  the  statue,  copies  of  which  were  distributed  to 
various  institutions  and  individuals.  The  monument  now 
stands  in  the  Natural  History  Department  of  the  British 
Museum. 

Amongst  public  notices  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks  after  his 
death,  the  best  known  are  Cuvier's  Eloge  delivered  before  the 
French  Academy,  and  Sir  Everard  Home's  Hunterian  Oration. 

The  lease  of  his  house  in  Soho  Square,  and  an  annuity 
of  £200,  were  left  to  Eobert  Brown,  to  whom  were  also 
bequeathed  his  library  and  natural  history  collections,  with 
reversion  to  the  British  Museum.  On  condition  of  being 
appointed  keeper  of  the  botanical  department,  Brown  made 
over  the  whole  in  1828,  reserving  to  himself  the  fullest  use  of 
the  collections  during  his  life,  and  accepting  the  duty  of  pre- 
paring a  Life  of  Banks,  as  told  in  the  preface  to  this  "  Journal." 

Considering  the  eminence  of  Banks's  position  in  the 
scientific  world,  it  is  surprising  to  find  how  little  he  wrote. 
The  following  are  the  most  important  of  his  publications — 

"  A  short  Account  of  the  cause  of  the  Disease  in  Corn,  called  by 
farmers  the  Blight,  the  Mildew,  and  the  Bust." — Nicholson,  Journ.  x. 
(1805),  pp.  225-234;  Tilloch,  Phil.  Mag.  xxi.  (1805),  pp.  320-327; 
Ann.  Sot.  ii.  (1806),  pp.  51-61.  Also  as  a  separate  publication,  1805, 
8vo,  15  pp.  1  tab. ;  and  reprinted  in  Curtis,  Practical  Observations  on 
the  British  Grasses,  1824,  pp.  151-166,  t.  1. 

"An  attempt  to  ascertain  the  time  when  the  Potato  (Solanum 
tuberosum)  was  first  introduced  into  the  United  Kingdom ;  with 
some  Account  of  the  Hill  Wheat  of  India"  (1805).— Hortic.  Soc. 
Trans,  i.  1812,  pp.  8-12. 

"  Some  Hints  respecting  the  proper  Mode  of  inuring  tender  Plants 
to  our  Climate,"  I.e.  pp.  21-25. 

"  On  the  Forcing-houses  of  the  Romans,  with  a  List  of  Fruits  culti- 
vated by  them  now  in  our  Gardens,"  I.e.  pp.  147-156. 

"On  ripening  the  second  Crop  of  Figs  that  grow  on  the  new 
Shoots,"  I.e.  pp.  252-254. 

"Notes  relative  to  the  first  appearance  of  the  Aphis  laniffera,  or 
the  Apple  Tree  Insect,  in  this  Country  "  (1812),  I.e.  ii.  pp.  162-170. 

"  Observations  on  the  nature  and  formation  of  the  Stone  incrusting 
the  Skeletons  which  have  been  found  in  the  Island  of  Guadeloupe, 
with  some  account  of  the  origin  of  those  Skeletons"  (1818). — Trans. 
Linn.  Soc.  xii.  (1818),  pp.  53-61. 


XXXV111 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


He  also  published  various  papers  in  Arcliceologia. 

To  the  labours  of  J.  Dryander  (who  succeeded  Solander 
as  Banks's  secretary  and  librarian,  and  who  was  on  his  death 
succeded  by  Kobert  Brown  in  1810)  is  due  the  publication 
of  the  catalogue  of  Banks's  library.  It  is  entitled  "  Cata- 
logus  Bibliothecse  historico-naturalis  Josephi  Banks  .  .  . 
auctore  Jono  Dryander/'  5  vols.  8vo,  1798-1800.  In  it 
are  enumerated  the  works  of  upwards  of  6000  authors,  with 
analyses  of  their  writings,  arranged  according  to  the  subjects 
treated.  This  work  has  never  been  superseded. 

The  name  of  Banks  is  commemorated  botanically  in  the 
Australian  genus  Banksia,  so  named  in  his  honour  by  the 
younger  Linnaeus. 

DE.  SOLANDEE 

This  sketch  cannot  be  concluded  without  some  notice  of 
the  career  of  Banks's  first  librarian,  and  companion  during 
Cook's  voyage,  Daniel  Carl  Solander.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  country  clergyman,  and  born  in  Norrland,  Sweden,  on  the 
28th  February  1*736.  He  studied  at  the  University  of 
Upsala,  took  the  degree  of  M.D.,  and  became  a  pupil  of 
Linnaeus,  who  recommended  him  to  go  to  England.  He 
left  Upsala  in  1759,  being  warmly  commended  by  his 
botanical  professor  to  the  eminent  naturalist  John  Ellis, 
F.E.S.,  but  was  detained  in  the  south  of  Sweden  by  sickness 
for  nearly  a  year,  only  reaching  our  shores  in  July  1760. 
In  the  following  October  he  was  strongly  recommended  by 
Peter  Collinson,  F.E.S.,  to  the  notice  of  the  trustees  of  the 
British  Museum,  but  no  permanent  employment  was  the 
result  of  this  appeal.  In  the  autumn  of  1762  Linnaeus  pro- 
cured for  him  the  offer  of  the  botanical  professorship  at  St. 
Petersburg,  but  after  consultation  with  his  English  friends, 
Solander  decided  to  decline  the  appointment,  for  "many 
reasons,"  which  are  not  given.  The  chief  one  seems  to  have 
been  that  at  this  time  he  was  engaged  in  classifying  and 
cataloguing  in  the  British  Museum,  with  prospect  of  advance- 
ment. A  few  months  later  he  was  appointed  assistant  in 


DR.  SOLANDER 


that  institution,  and  in  1764  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Eoyal 
Society.  It  was  in  1 7  6  7  that  he  first  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Banks,  who,  when  he  had  in  the  following  year  resolved  to 
accompany  Cook  to  the  Pacific,  induced  Solander  to  go  with 
him.  His  situation  in  the  Museum  was  kept  open  for  him,  a 
deputy  being  put  in  to  act  during  his  absence  with  Banks. 

An  extract  from  a  letter  from  Ellis  to  Linnseus  gives  a 
clear  idea  of  the  arrangements  made  for  the  journey : — 

I  must  now  inform  you  that  Joseph  Banks,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of 
£6000  per  annum  estate,  has  prevailed  on  your  pupil,  Dr.  Solander, 
to  accompany  him  in  the  ship  that  carries  the  English  astronomers  to 
the  new-discovered  country  in  the  South  Sea l  .  .  .  where  they  are  to 
collect  all  the  natural  curiosities  of  the  place,  and,  after  the  astronomers 
have  finished  their  observations  on  the  transit  of  Venus,  they  are  to 
proceed  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Banks,  by  order  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Admiralty,  on  further  discoveries.  .  .  .  No  people  ever  went  to 
sea  better  fitted  out  for  the  purpose  of  natural  history,  nor  more 
elegantly.  They  have  got  a  fine  library  of  natural  history  :  they  have 
all  sorts  of  machines  for  catching  and  preserving  insects  ;  all  kinds  of 
nets,  trawls,  drags,  and  hooks  for  coral  fishing  ;  they  have  even  a 
curious  contrivance  of  a  telescope  by  which,  put  into  the  water,  you 
can  see  the  bottom  at  a  great  depth,  where  it  is  clear.  They  have 
many  cases  of  bottles  with  ground  stoppers,  of  several  sizes,  to  preserve 
animals  in  spirits.  They  have  the  several  sorts  of  salts  to  surround  the 
seeds  ;  and  wax,  both  bees'-wax  and  that  of  the  Myrica  ;  besides,  there 
are  many  people  whose  sole  business  it  is  to  attend  them  for  this  very 
purpose.  They  have  two  painters  and  draughtsmen,  several  volunteers 
who  have  a  tolerable  notion  of  natural  history  ;  in  short,  Solander 
assured  me  this  expedition  would  cost  Mr.  Banks  £10,000.  .  .  . 
About  three  days  ago  I  took  my  leave  of  Solander,  when  he  assured 
me  he  would  write  to  you  and  to  all  his  family,  and  acquaint  them 
with  the  particulars  of  this  expedition.  I  must  observe  to  you  that 
his  places  are  secured  to  him,  and  he  has  promises  from  persons  in 
power  of  much  better  preferment  on  his  return.  Everybody  here 
parted  from  him  with  reluctance,  for  no  man  was  ever  more  beloved, 
and  in  so  great  esteem  with  the  public  from  his  affable  and  polite 
behaviour. 

On  his  return  from  the  South  Seas,  Dr.  Solander  was 
installed  under  Banks's  roof  in  Soho  Square  as  his  secretary 
and  librarian ;  and  at  the  British  Museum  he  was  advanced 
to  the  post  of  under-librarian.  A  short  time  after  his  return 

1  The  Society  Islands. 


xl  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

the  project  of  a  second  voyage  was  mooted,  as  already 
mentioned  on  p.  xxvii.  How  this  idea  was  received  by 
Linnaeus,  the  following  extracts  from  his  correspondence 
with  Ellis  will  show  : — 

I  have  just  read,  in  some  foreign  newspapers,  that  our  friend 
Solander  intends  to  revisit  those  new  countries,  discovered  by  Mr. 
Banks  and  himself,  in  the  ensuing  spring.  This  report  has  affected 
me  so  much  as  almost  entirely  to  deprive  me  of  sleep.  How  vain 
are  the  hopes  of  man  !  Whilst  the  whole  botanical  world,  like  myself, 
has  been  looking  for  the  most  transcendent  benefits  to  our  science, 
from  the  unrivalled  exertions  of  your  countrymen,  all  their  matchless 
and  truly  astonishing  collection,  such  as  has  never  been  seen  before, 
nor  may  ever  be  seen  again,  is  to  be  put  aside  untouched,  to  be  thrust 
into  some  corner,  to  become  perhaps  the  prey  of  insects  and  of 
destruction. 

I  have  every  day  been  figuring  to  myself  the  occupations  of  my 
pupil  Solander,  now  putting  his  collection  in  order,  having  first 
arranged  and  numbered  his  plants,  in  parcels,  according  to  the  places 
where  they  were  gathered,  and  then  written  upon  each  specimen  its 
native  country  and  appropriate  number.  I  then  fancied  him  throw- 
ing the  whole  into  classes,  putting  aside  and  naming  such  as  were 
already  known;  ranging  others  under  known  genera,  with  specific 
differences,  and  distinguishing  by  new  names  and  definitions  such  as 
formed  new  genera,  with  their  species.  Thus,  thought  I,  the  world 
will  be  delighted  and  benefited  by  all  these  discoveries  ;  and  the 
foundations  of  true  science  will  be  strengthened,  so  as  to  endure 
through  all  generations  ! 

I  am  under  great  apprehension  that,  if  this  collection  should 
remain  untouched  till  Solander's  return,  it  might  share  the  same 
lot  as  Forskal's  Arabian  specimens  at  Copenhagen.  .  .  .  Solander 
promised  long  ago,  while  detained  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  in  the  early 
part  of  his  voyage,  that  he  would  visit  me  after  his  return,  of  which 
I  have  been  in  expectation.  If  he  had  brought  some  of  his  specimens 
with  him,  I  could  at  once  have  told  him  what  were  new  ;  and  we 
might  have  turned  over  some  books  together,  and  he  might  have  been 
informed  or  satisfied  upon  many  subjects,  which  after  my  death  will 
not  be  so  easily  explained. 

I  have  no  answer  from  him  to  the  letter  I  enclosed  to  you,  which 
I  cannot  but  wonder  at.  You,  yourself,  know  how  much  I  have 
esteemed  him,  and  how  strongly  I  recommended  him  to  you. 

By  all  that  is  great  and  good,  I  entreat  you,  who  know  so  well  the 
value  of  science,  to  do  all  that  in  you  lies  for  the  publication  of  these 
new  acquisitions,  that  the  learned  world  may  not  be  deprived  of 
them.  .  .  . 

Again  the  plants  of  Solander  and  Banks  recur  to  my  imagination. 


DR.  SOLANDER 


When  I  turn  over  FeuilleVs  figures,  I  meet  with  more  extraordinary 
things  among  them  than  anywhere  else.  I  cannot  but  presume 
therefore,  as  Peru  and  Chili  are  so  rich,  that  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  as  great  abundance  of  rarities  have  remained  in  concealment, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  to  reward  the  labours  of  our 
illustrious  voyagers.  I  see  these  things  now  but  afar  off.  ... 

When  I  ponder  upon  the  insects  they  have  brought,  I  am  over- 
whelmed at  the  reported  number  of  new  species.  Are  there  many 
new  genera  ?  .  .  . 

When  I  think  of  their  Mollusca,  I  conceive  the  new  ones  must  be 
very  numerous.  These  animals  cannot  be  investigated  after  death,  as 
they  contract  in  dying.  Without  doubt,  as  there  were  draughtsmen 
on  board,  they  would  not  fail  to  afford  ample  materials  for  drawing. 

Do  but  consider,  my  friend,  if  these  treasures  are  kept  back,  what 
may  happen  to  them.  They  may  be  devoured  by  vermin  of  all 
kinds.  The  house  where  they  are  lodged  may  be  burnt.  Those 
destined  to  describe  them  may  die.  Even  you,  the  promoter  of  every 
scientific  undertaking  in  your  country,  may  be  taken  from  us.  All 
sublunary  things  are  uncertain,  nor  ought  anything  to  be  trusted  to 
treacherous  futurity.  I  therefore  once  more  beg,  nay  I  earnestly 
beseech  you,  to  urge  the  publication  of  these  new  discoveries.  I  con- 
fess it  to  be  my  most  ardent  wish  to  see  this  done  before  I  die.  To 
whom  can  I  urge  my  anxious  wishes  but  to  you,  who  are  so  devoted 
to  me  and  to  science  ? 

Remember  me  to  the  immortal  Banks  and  Solander. 

The  writer  clearly  recognised  the  dangers  of  that  dilatori- 
ness  which  evidently  formed  a  marked  feature  in  the 
character  of  Solander ;  he  had  repeatedly  complained  of 
his  pupil's  neglect  in  writing,  not  only  to  him,  but  to  his 
mother.  This  was  the  subject  of  reproach  even  before  the 
great  expedition,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  intensified  after- 
wards, for  after  Solander's  death,  letters  from  his  mother 
addressed  to  him  were  found  actually  unopened ! 

The  closing  scene  came  with  startling  suddenness.  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  was  out  of  town,  and  to  that  fact  we  owe  the 
following  details  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  (afterwards  Sir  Charles) 
Blagden,  an  intimate  acquaintance. 

SOHO  SQUARE, 
Wednesday,  8th  May  1782,  2.30  P.M. 

Soon  after  breakfast  this  morning  Dr.  Solander  began  to  find  him- 
self much  indisposed,  and  in  a  short  time  the  symptoms  of  a  palsy  of 
the  left  side  began  to  appear.  I  was  conversing  with  him  at  the 
time,  and  as  soon  as  the  stroke  became  certain,  dispatched  a  messenger 


xlii  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

for  Mr.  Hunter,  whilst  Professor  Linnaeus  l  went  to  call  Dr.  Heberden 
and  Dr.  Pitcairne.  All  these  gentlemen  have  been  with  him,  and  the 
necessary  remedies  prescribed.  I  dare  not  say  what  the  event  will  be, 
but  am  not  without  hopes,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  danger  with 
which  you  know  all  paralytic  strokes  are  attended.  It  was  found 
impossible ,  to  move  him ;  Lady  Banks  has  therefore  been  so  kind  as 
to  order  an  apartment  for  him  in  her  house,  and  I  shall  quit  him  as 
little  as  possible,  particularly  not  to-night.  You  may  judge  of  the 
affliction  of  every  one  here.  I  am  so  much  affected  myself  that  I 
know  not  what  to  say  to  you,  but  that  I  am  most  affectionately  yours, 

C.  BLAGDEN. 

It  is  a  striking  testimony  of  the  regard  in  which 
Solander  was  held,  that  the  foremost  physicians  of  the 
day  should  be  summoned  to  his  side  at  the  moment  of 
attack,  and  that  the  son  and  successor  of  his  botanical 
preceptor  should  be  one  of  the  messengers  in  search  of 
medical  aid.  All  efforts  were  unavailing  to  prolong  his 
life,  for  he  died  at  Soho  Square  on  the  16th  of  the  same 
month. 

He  is  stated  to  have  been  a  short,  fair  man,  somewhat 
stout,  with  small  eyes,  and  a  good-humoured  expression  of 
countenance.  The  genus  Solandra  is  his  botanical  memorial, 
named  after  him  by  his  fellow-countryman,  Swartz.  A  full- 
length  portrait  of  him,  by  an  unknown  artist,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Linnean  Society  (to  which  body  it  was  given  by 
E.  A.  Salisbury),  is  here  reproduced. 

1  Carl  von  Linn6,  son  of  the  eminent  naturalist. 


NATURALISTS  AND  VOYAGERS  MENTIONED 
IN  THE  JOUENAL 


ANSON,  George,  Lord  (1697-1762),  entered  the  navy  in  1712,  and 
was  in  1740  sent  to  the  Pacific  in  command  of  a  squadron.  Reaching 
his  destination  by  way  of  South  America,  he  captured  the  "  Spanish 
galleon,"  and  brought  it  to  England,  returning  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  in  1744.  His  "  Voyage  round  the  World  "  was  published  in 
1748.  In  1 7  46  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Channel  Fleet, 
and  was  raised  to  the  peerage  in  1747.  In  1751  he  became  First 
Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  having  virtually  performed  all  the  duties  of 
that  office  for  two  or  three  years  previously. 

BASTER,  Job  (1711-75),  a  Dutch  naturalist,  who  published  many 
works  on  natural  history,  including  a  treatise  on  the  classification  of 
plants  and  animals  (1768),  and  "  Opuscula  subseciva"  (1759-65), 
consisting  of  miscellaneous  observations  on  animals  and  plants,  re- 
ferring more  especially  to  seeds  and  embryos. 

BIRON,  C.,  author  of  "  Curiosites  de  la  Nature  et  de  1'Art,  apportees 
de  deux  Voyages  des  Indes,  en  Occident,  1698-99  ;  en  Orient,  1701-2  ; 
avec  une  Relation  abregee  des  deux  Voyages"  (1703). 

BOUGAINVILLE,  Louis  Antoine  de  (1729-1811),  was  successively 
lawyer,  soldier,  secretary  to  the  French  Embassy  in  London,  and 
officer  under  Montcalm  in  Canada.  In  1765  he  persuaded  the  in- 
habitants of  St.  Malo  to  fit  out  an  expedition  to  colonise  the  Falkland 
Islands,  but  upon  these  being  claimed  by  the  Spaniards,  Bougainville 
was  sent  out  in  1766,  in  command  of  the  frigate  Boudeuse,  with  a 
consort,  to  transfer  them  to  the  latter  country.  After  accomplishing 
this  mission  he  proceeded  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  fell  in 
with  Otahite  (to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cyth&re,  but  which  had 
been  previously  seen  by  Quiros  and  Wallis),  the  Navigators,  and  the  New 
Hebrides  (Quiros'  Terra  del  Espiritu  Santo).  Endeavouring  to  steer 
due  west  at  about  the  15th  degree  of  south  latitude,  he  was,  when 
still  out  of  sight  of  land,  brought  up  by  reefs  (outside  the  Great 


xliv  JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 

Barrier  Reef).  Turning  northwards  he  sailed,  by  the  Louisiade  Archi- 
pelago and  New  Guinea,  to  the  Moluccas,  returning  to  France  in  1769 
via  Batavia  and  Mauritius. 

Bougainville  was  accompanied  on  this  voyage  by  a  naturalist, 
Philibert  Commerson,  whose  servant,  Jean  Bary,  passed  for  a  man  until 
her  sex  was  recognised  by  the  Tahitians.  Otourrou,  a  Tahitian  whom 
Bougainville  took  with  him  to  France,  died  of  small-pox  at  Mada- 
gascar while  being  conveyed  back  to  his  native  country.  The  genus 
Bougainvillea  was  so  named  by  Commerson  in  honour  of  the  navigator, 
who  was  the  first  Frenchman  to  circumnavigate  the  globe.  Bougain- 
ville afterwards  commanded  various  vessels  in  the  American  War. 

BRISSON,  Mathurin  Jacques  (1723-1806),  French  naturalist  and 
physicist,  author  of  "Le  regne  animal"  (1756),  and  " Ornithologie " 
(1760),  and  various  works  on  physics. 

BROSSE  or  BROSSES,  Charles  de  (1709-77),  first  President  of  the 
Parliament  of  Burgundy,  author  of  "Histoire  des  Navigations  aux 
Terres  Australes  "  (1756). 

BROWNE,  Patrick  (1720?-! 790),  a  physician  who  studied  natural 
history,  more  particularly  botany,  and  after  a  voyage  to  the  West 
Indies  published  the  "Civil  and  Natural  History  of  Jamaica"  (1756). 
He  also  compiled  more  or  less  local  catalogues  of  birds,  fishes,  and 
plants. 

BUFPON,  Georges  Louis  Leclerc,  Comte  de  (1707-88),  French 
naturalist  and  writer.  Upon  being  appointed  Director  of  the  King's 
Garden  at  Paris,  in  1739,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  compiling  a  natural 
history  of  creation,  and  devoted  the  following  fifty  years  of  his  life  to 
carrying  out  this  project,  with  the  help  of  other  naturalists.  His 
"Histoire  naturelle"  (published  at  various  periods  from  1749  to  1788) 
treats  of  the  theory  of  the  earth,  nature  of  animals,  man,  viviparous 
quadrupeds,  birds,  and  minerals.  The  task  was  continued  after  his 
death  by  Lacepede. 

BYRON,  Vice- Admiral  John  (1723-86),  was  the  second  son  of  the 
fourth  Lord  Byron,  and  grandfather  of  the  poet.  He  accompanied 
Anson  on  his  voyage  to  the  Pacific  as  a  midshipman  on  board  the 
Wager,  which  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Chile  in  1741  :  some  years 
later  he  published  the  details  of  his  adventures  (1768).  In  1764  he 
was  appointed  to  the  Dolphin,  with  orders  to  explore  the  South  Seas. 
He  left  England  in  company  with  the  Tamar,  and,  passing  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  stood  across  the  Pacific,  but  following  a 
course  already  known,  made  no  discoveries  of  any  importance.  With 
a  great  deal  of  scurvy  on  board  he  reached  the  Ladrones,  and  returned 
home  in  1766.  [Otahite  was  rediscovered  on  the  Dolphin's  second 


NATURALISTS  AND  VOYAGERS  MENTIONED        xlv 

voyage  by  Wallis,  q.v.]  Byron  was  afterwards  (1769-72)  Governor 
of  Newfoundland,  and  had  command  of  the  West  Indian  Fleet  in 
1778-79. 

CANTON,  John  (1718-72),  F.R.S.,  electrician,  was  the  first  English- 
man who  successfully  repeated  Franklin's  experiments.  He  invented 
an  electroscope  and  an  electrometer.  The  Copley  Medal  of  the  Royal 
Society  was  awarded  him  in  1751. 

COOK,  Captain  James  (1728-79),  the  son  of  an  agricultural 
labourer,  was  born  at  Marton  in  Yorkshire.  He  served  several  years 
in  the  merchant  service,  but  volunteered  for  the  navy  in  1755,  enter- 
ing on  the  Eagle  under  Captain  Hugh  Palliser.  It  was  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  latter  that  Cook,  who  had  previously  surveyed  the  St. 
Lawrence  river,  was  afterwards  appointed  "  Marine  Surveyor  to  the 
coast  of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador."  He  published  his  results  as 
directions  for  navigating  these  coasts  (1766-68). 

The  Admiralty  having  at  the  instance  of  the  Royal  Society  resolved 
to  despatch  an  expedition  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  in  the  Pacific, 
Cook  was  appointed  Lieutenant  and  placed  in  command  of  the  En- 
deavour (1768) :  this  voyage  is  described  in  the  following  pages. 

On  his  return  in  1771,  Cook  was  immediately  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  Commander  and  sent  again  to  the  Pacific  with  the  Resolution 
and  Adventure,  the  primary  object  of  the  expedition  being  to  verify 
the  existence  or  non-existence  of  an  antarctic  continent.  He  left 
Plymouth  in  1772,  and  proceeded  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  whence 
sailing  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  he  was  the  first  to  cross  the 
Antarctic  circle.  After  revisiting  New  Zealand,  Otahite,  and  New 
Zealand  again  (when  the  Resolution  and  Adventure  parted  company), 
he  sailed  to  the  south,  and  reached  his  highest  latitude  (7l°*10)  in 
January  1774.  After  touching  at  Easter  Island  he  explored  the  New 
Hebrides  and  discovered  New  Caledonia,  whence  he  returned  home  by 
New  Zealand,  Cape  Horn,  and  South  Georgia,  reaching  Plymouth  in 
July  1775. 

Apart  from  the  geographical  discoveries,  and  finally  setting  at  rest 
the  question  of  a  habitable  southern  continent,  this  voyage  was,  even 
more  than  the  first,  remarkable  for  the  fact  that  Cook  kept  his  crew 
absolutely  free  from  scurvy,  and  lost  only  a  single  man  during  the 
whole  of  the  three  years.  Cook's  demonstration  of  the  possibility  of 
maintaining  the  health  of  crews  during  long  periods  is  one  of  his 
greatest  titles  to  fame.  He  gave  an  account  of  his  methods  for  the 
prevention  of  scurvy  to  the  Royal  Society  in  1776,  and  the  Copley 
Medal  was  in  the  same  year  awarded  to  him,  in  recognition  of  his 
services  to  the  maritime  world  and  to  humanity  in  this  connection. 

Having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Captain,  he  offered  to  take 
command  of  an  expedition  to  the  North  Pacific  in  search  of  a  North- 
west Passage.  He  left  England  on  this,  his  third  voyage,  in  July 


xlvi  JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 

1776,  in  the  Resolution,  his  consort,  the  Discovery,  joining  him  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  two  ships  visited  Van  Dieinen's  Land  and 
New  Zealand,  and  spent  1777  among  the  islands  of  the  South  Pacific. 
Going  north,  he  discovered  the  Sandwich  Islands  (1778),  and  sur- 
veyed the  west  coast  of  North  America  as  far  as  Icy  Cape  (thus  passing 
through  the  Behring  Straits).  Thence,  finding  further  advance  im- 
possible, he  returned  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  anchoring  in  Karakakoa 
Bay.  The  natives  at  first  proved  friendly,  but  quarrels  afterwards 
arose,  and  Cook,  going  on  shore  to  recover  a  stolen  boat,  was  killed 
(14th  February  1779),  no  attempt  at  a  rescue  being  made. 

COWLEY,  Captain,  buccaneer,  fell  in  with  "  Pepys "  Island,  which 
was  afterwards  recognised  to  be  one  of  the  Falklands,  about  the  year 
1683.  He  sailed  round  the  world  in  1683-86,  keeping  a  Journal 
from  which  the  account  of  his  voyage  in  Callander's  "  Terra  Australis 
Cognita  "  is  taken. 

DALRYMPLE,  Alexander  (1737-1808),  went  out  as  a  writer  in  the 
East  India  Company's  service  in  1752,  and  undertook  several  voyages 
for  the  Company,  particularly  to  the  Sulu  Islands  and  to  China.  In 
1767  he  published  an  "Account  of  Discoveries  in  the  South  Pacific 
Ocean  before  1764,"  and  later  a  "Historical  Collection  of  South  Sea 
Voyages"  (1770-71),  besides  pamphlets  on  Indian  affairs.  He  was 
appointed  the  first  Hydrographer  to  the  Admiralty  in  1795,  but  was 
dismissed  in  1808,  and  died  the  same  year. 

D  AMPLER,  William  (1652-1715),  buccaneer,  captain  in  the  navy, 
and  hydrographer,  made  several  voyages  to  the  South  Seas.  In  one 
of  these  he  left  Virginia  in  1683  and  went  by  way  of  South  America 
to  the  East  Indies,  where  he  spent  some  time  in  trading.  He  re- 
turned to  England  in  1691  and  published  his  "Voyage  Round  the 
World  "  (1697).  On  a  later  voyage  he  sailed  under  directions  from  the 
Admiralty  along  the  northern  coast  of  New  Holland  and  visited  New 
Guinea  (1699-1701).  His  narrative  of  this  expedition,  entitled 
"Voyage  to  New  Holland  in  the  year  1699"  (published  1703-9),  is 
remarkable  for  the  information  it  contains  on  the  natural  history,  etc., 
of  Australia.  He  was  again  in  the  South  Seas  in  1703-7  and  in 
1708,  upon  which  last  occasion  he  rescued  Alexander  Selkirk,  whom 
he  had  himself  left  there  on  the  former  voyage,  from  the  island  of 
Juan  Fernandez. 

"DOLPHIN,"  the  first  vessel  in  the  English  navy  sheathed  with 
copper  :  1st  voyage,  see  Byron;  2nd  voyage  (to  Otahite),  see  Wallis. 

EDWARDS,  George,  F.R.S.  (1694-1773),  naturalist,  Librarian  to  the 
Royal  College  of  Physicians.  He  was  the  author  of  a  "History  of 
Birds"  (1743-64),  one  volume  of  which  is  remarkable  for  being  dedi- 
cated to  God. 


NATURALISTS  AND  VOYAGERS  MENTIONED         xlvii 

FERNANDEZ,  Juan  (died  1576),  Spanish  navigator,  appears  to  have 
been  constantly  employed  as  pilot  off  the  coasts  of  South  America. 
He  discovered  the  islands  bearing  his  name  about  1572,  and  in  1576 
reported  another  large  island  or  continent,  which  has  not  been 
identified. 

FOTHERGILL,  John,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  (1712-80),  was  a  Quaker,  and  the 
first  graduate  of  Edinburgh  to  be  admitted  as  a  licentiate  of  the 
College  of  Physicians  (1744).  He  was  greatly  interested  in  botany, 
and  possessed  a  magnificent  botanical  garden  at  Upton,  near  Stratford, 
where  he  kept  many  draughtsmen.  He  also  made  large  collections  of 
shells  and  insects.  His  "  Hortus  Uptonensis  "  was  published  amongst 
his  "Works"  after  his  death  in  1783-84. 

FRE"ZIER,  Ame'dee  Frangois  (1682-1773),  engineer  and  traveller, 
born  at  Chambe'ry,  was  descended  from  the  Scotch  Frasers.  He  was 
sent  out  by  the  French  king  in  1711  to  examine  the  Spanish  colonies 
in  South  America,  and  on  his  return  in  1714  published  his  "Relation 
d'un  Voyage  de  la  Mer  du  Sud  aux  cotes  du  Chili  et  du  Perou" 
(1716).  He  was  afterwards  Director  of  Fortifications  of  Brittany,  and 
was  the  author  of  several  works  on  architecture. 

HASSELQUIST,  Fredrik  (1722-52),  Swedish  naturalist  and  pupil  of 
Linnaeus.  He  spent  three  years  (1749-52)  travelling  in  Palestine 
and  Egypt,  and  made  large  collections  of  fishes,  reptiles,  insects,  plants, 
and  minerals,  studying  also  Arab  manuscripts,  coins,  and  mummies. 
He  died  at  Smyrna,  and  his  collections  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Linnaeus,  who  published  Hasselquist's  journal  and  observations  under 
the  title  of  "  Iter  Palestinum  "  (1757). 

HISTOIRE  des  Navigations  aux  Terres  Australes,  see  Brosse. 

HULME,  Nathaniel,  F.R.S.  (1732-1807),  was  Physician  to  the 
Charter-house. 

LE  MAIRE,  Jacob  (died  1616),  Dutch  navigator,  left  Holland  in 
company  with  William  Cornelissen  Schouten  (died  1625)  in  1615,  in 
the  Concorde,  with  the  view  of  determining  the  position  of  the  southern 
point  of  South  America,  in  defiance  of  the  regulations  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  which  attempted  to  close  the  routes  to  India, 
either  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  or  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Le 
Maire  and  Schouten  discovered  Staten  Island  and  Cape  Horn,  which 
they  doubled,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Batavia,  passing  along  the 
north-east  coast  of  New  Guinea.  On  their  arrival  at  Batavia,  their 
ship  was  seized  and  they  were  sent  to  Holland,  but  Le  Maire  died 
before  reaching  Europe.  Schouten  published  an  account  of  the 
voyage  in  1618. 


xlviii  JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 

L'HERMITE,  Jacques  (died  1624),  Dutch  Admiral,  was  sent  out  in 
1623  by  the  States- General  in  command  of  eleven  vessels  (the  Nassau 
fleet,  so  named  after  Prince  Maurice  of  Nassau)  to  attack  Peru.  The 
expedition  did  not  meet  with  much  success,  and  L'Hermite  himself 
died  at  Callao.  He  appears  to  have  previously  served  under  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company. 

MARCGRAV,  George  (1610-44),  German  physician  and  traveller, 
accompanied  Piso  (q.v.)  and  the  Prince  of  Nassau  to  Brazil  in  1636, 
where  he  travelled  for  six  years.  The  results  of  his  discoveries  are 
embodied  with  those  of  Piso  in  the  "  Historia  naturalis  Brasilia " 
(1648).  He  afterwards  went  to  the  coast  of  Guinea  and  there  died. 

MASKELYNE,  Nevil,  F.R.S.  (1732-1811),  was  sent  by  the  Royal 
Society  to  St.  Helena  to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  in  1761, 
but  the  phenomenon  was  obscured  by  clouds.  He  was  after- 
wards Astronomer-Royal  (1765)  ;  and  to  him  we  owe  the  "Nautical 
Almanac,"  the  publication  of  which  he  superintended  for  forty-five 
years.  In  1769  he  observed  the  transit  of  Venus  from  Greenwich. 
Later,  in  1784,  Maskelyne  strongly  supported  Dr.  Charles  Hutton 
against  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  then  President,  during  the  dissensions  in 
the  Royal  Society  (see  p.  xxx.) 

M 'BRIDE,  David  (1726-78),  medical  writer,  advocated  the  use  of 
fresh  wort  or  infusion  of  malt  as  a  preventive  of  scurvy  at  sea,  a 
specific  adopted  by  Banks  on  this  voyage.  It  was,  however,  soon  after 
superseded  by  Lind's  lemon  juice. 

NARBROUGH,  Admiral  Sir  John  (1640-88),  was  sent  out  to  the 
South  Seas  in  1669.  Passing  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  he 
sailed  as  far  as  Valdivia  and  then  returned  home.  He  was  present  at 
the  battle  of  Solebay  (1672),  and  after  some  years  of  service,  died  at 
Saint  Domingo,  whither  he  had  gone,  at  the  instance  of  the  Govern- 
ment, to  search  for  treasure. 

NASSAU  FLEET.     See  L'Hermite. 

OLDENLAND,  Henry  Bernhard,  Dutch  naturalist,  author  of  "  Catalogi 
duo  plantarum  Africanarum  "  in  the  "Thesaurus  Zeylanicus"  (1737). 

OSBECK,  Pehr  (1723-1805),  Swedish  naturalist  and  traveller. 
He  studied  natural  history,  and  on  the  recommendation  of  Linnaeus 
was  appointed  chaplain  to  a  vessel  of  the  Swedish  East  India  Company, 
in  which  he  visited  China,  and,  on  the  return  voyage,  Ascension. 
Osbeck  published  his  observations  under  the  title  of  "  Journal  of  a 
voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  1750-52,  with  observations  on  the  natural 
history,  language,  manners,  and  domestic  economy  of  foreign  peoples  " 
(1757). 


CHAPTEE    I 

ENGLAND    TO    KIO    DE    JANEIRO 
AUG.  25— Nov.  13, 1768 

Departure — Birds  and  marine  animals — Species  of  Dagysa— Madeira — Dr. 
Heberden — Madeira  mahogany — Wine  -  making — Vines — Carts — Vege- 
table productions — Convent — Chapel  wainscoted  with  bones — General 
account  of  Madeira — Peak  of  Teneriffe — Marine  animals — Cross  the 
Equator — Climate  of  tropics — Luminous  animals  in  the  water — Trade 
winds— Brazilian  fishermen — Sargasso  weed — Rio  harbour. 

25th  August  1768.  Plymouth. — After  having  waited  in 
this  place  ten  days,  the  ship  and  everything  belonging  to 
me  being  all  that  time  in  perfect  readiness  to  sail  at  a 
moment's  warning,  we  at  last  got  a  fair  wind ;  and  this  day 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  evening  weighed  anchor  and  set  sail, 
all  in  excellent  health  and  spirits,  perfectly  prepared  (in 
mind  at  least)  to  undergo  with  cheerfulness  any  fatigues  or 
dangers  that  may  occur  in  our  intended  voyage. 

26th.  Saw  this  evening  a  shoal  of  those  fish  which  are 
particularly  called  Porpoises  by  the  seamen,  probably  the 
Delphinus  Phoccena  of  Linnaeus,  as  their  noses  are  very  blunt. 

2Sth.  In  some  sea  water  which  was  on  board  to  season 
a  cask,  observed  a  very  minute  sea -insect,  which  Dr. 
Solander  described  by  the  name  of  Podura  marina.  Took 
several  specimens  of  Medusa  pelagica,  whose  different  motions 
in  swimming  amused  us  very  much ;  among  the  appendages 
to  this  animal  we  found  also  a  new  species  of  Oniscus.  We 
took  also  another  animal,  quite  different  from  any  we  had 
ever  seen ;  it  was  of  an  angular  figure,  about  three  inches 

B 


2  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

long  and  one  thick,  with  a  hollow  passing  quite  through  it ; 
on  one  end  was  a  brown  spot,  which  might  be  the  stomach 
of  the  animal.  Four  of  these,  the  whole  number  that  we 
took,  adhered  together  when  taken  by  their  sides ;  so  that 
at  first  we  imagined  them  to  be  one  animal :  but  upon  being 
put  into  a  glass  of  water,  they  very  soon  separated,  and 
swam  briskly  about. 

31  st.  Observed  about  the  ship  several  of  the  birds  called 
by  the  seamen  Mother  Carey's  Chickens,  Procellaria  pelagica, 
Linn.,  which  were  thought  by  them  to  be  a  sure  presage  of 
a  storm,  as  indeed  it  proved. 

2nd  September.  The  casting-net  brought  up  two  kinds  of 
animals,  different  from  any  before  taken.  They  came  up  in 
clusters,  both  sorts  indifferently  in  each  cluster,  although 
there  were  much  fewer  of  a  horned  kind  than  of  the  other  : 
they  seemed  to  be  two  species  of  one  genus,  but  are  not  at 
all  reducible  to  any  hitherto  described. 

3rd.  We  were  employed  all  day  in  describing  the 
animals  taken  yesterday :  we  found  them  to  be  of  a  new 
genus,  and  of  the  same  as  that  taken  on  the  28th  of  August ; 
we  called  the  genus  Dagysa,  from  the  likeness  of  one  species 
to  a  gem. 

4th.  Employed  in  fishing  with  the  casting -net.  We 
were  fortunate  in  taking  several  specimens  of  Dagysa  saccata 
adhering  together,  sometimes  to  the  length  of  a  yard  or 
more,  and  shining  in  the  water  with  very  beautiful  colours ; 
but  another  insect  we  took  to-day  was  possessed  of  more 
beautiful  colouring  than  anything  in  nature  I  have  ever  seen, 
hardly  excepting  gems.  It  is  of  a  new  genus,  called  Carcinium, 
of  which  we  took  another  species,  having  no  beauty  to  boast 
of ;  but  the  first,  which  we  called  opalinum,  shone  in  the  water 
with  all  the  splendour  and  variety  of  colours  that  we  observe 
in  a  real  opal.  It  lived  in  a  glass  of  salt  water,  in  which  it 
was  put  for  examination,  several  hours,  darting  about  with 
great  agility,  and  at  every  motion  showing  an  almost  infinite 
variety  of  changeable  colours.  Towards  the  evening  of  this 
day  a  new  phenomenon  appeared :  the  sea  was  almost 
covered  with  a  small  species  of  crab  (Cancer  depurator,  Linn.), 


SEPT.  1768 


floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  moving  with  toler- 
able agility,  as  if  the  surface  and  not  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  were  their  proper  station. 

5th.  I  forgot  to  mention  yesterday  that  two  birds  were 
caught  in  the  rigging,  which  had  probably  come  from  Spain, 
as  we  were  not  then  distant  more  than  five  or  six  leagues 
from  that  country.  This  morning  another  was  caught  and 
brought  to  me,  but  so  weak  that  it  died  in  my  hand  almost 
immediately.  All  three  were  of  the  same  species,  and  not 
described  by  Linnaeus ;  we  called  them  Motacilla  velificans, 
as  they  must  be  sailors  who  would  venture  themselves 
aboard  a  ship  which  is  going  round  the  world.  To  balance 
to  some  extent  our  good  fortune,  now  become  too  prevalent, 
a  misfortune  happened  this  morning,  almost  the  worst  which 
our  enemies  could  have  wished.  The  morning  was  calm, 
and  Eichmond  employed  in  searching  for  what  should 
appear  on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  a  shoal  of  Dagysce  was 
observed,  and  he,  eager  to  take  some  of  them,  threw  the 
casting-net,  fastened  only  to  his  wrist ;  the  string  slipped 
from  him,  and  the  net  at  once  sunk  into  the  deep,  never- 
more to  torment  its  inhabitants.  This  left  us  for  some  time 
entirely  without  a  resource;  plenty  of  animals  came  past 
the  ship,  but  all  the  nets  were  in  the  hold,  stowed  under  so 
many  other  things  that  it  was  impossible  even  to  hope  that 
they  may  be  got  out  to-day  at  least.  However,  an  old  hoop- 
net  was  fastened  to  a  fishing-rod,  and  with  it  one  new 
species  of  Dagysa  was  caught :  it  was  named  lobata. 

6th.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  day  the  sea  was  almost 
covered  with  Dagysce  of  different  kinds,  among  which  two 
entirely  new  ones  were  taken  (rostrata  and  strumosa),  but 
neither  were  observed  hanging  in  clusters,  as  most  of  the 
other  species  had  been ;  whether  from  the  badness  of  the 
new  machine,  or  the  scarcity  of  the  animals,  I  cannot  say. 

It  is  now  time  to  give  some  account  of  the  genus  of 
Dagysa,  of  which  we  have  already  taken  six  species,  all 
agreeing  very  well  in  many  particulars,  but  chiefly  in  this 
very  singular  one,  that  they  have  a  hole  at  each  end,  com- 
municating by  a  tube  often  as  large  as  the  body  of  the 


4  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

animal,  by  the  help  of  which  they  swim  with  some  degree 
of  activity  when  separated  from  each  other.  Several  sorts 
are  most  generally  seen  joined  together,  gemmce  more  par- 
ticularly, which  adhere  in  irregularly-shaped  clusters  of  some 
hundreds ;  in  the  midst  of  these  were  generally  found  a  few 
specimens  of  cornuta,  from  which  circumstance  we  may 
judge  that  they  are  very  nearly  allied.  It  seems  singular 
that  no  naturalist  should  have  taken  notice  of  these  animals, 
as  they  abound  so  much  where  the  ship  now  is,  not  twenty 
leagues  from  the  coast  of  Spain.  From  hence,  however, 
great  hopes  may  be  formed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  deep 
have  been  but  little  examined,  and  as  Dr.  Solander  and  my- 
self will  have  probably  greater  opportunity  in  the  course  of 
this  voyage  than  any  one  before  us,  it  is  a  very  encouraging 
circumstance  that  so  large  a  field  of  natural  history  has 
remained  almost  untrod  until  now,  and  that  we  may  be 
able  from  this  circumstance  alone  (almost  unthought  of 
when  we  embarked  in  the  undertaking)  to  add  considerable 
lights  to  the  science  which  we  so  eagerly  pursue. 

This  evening  a  large  quantity  of  Carcinium  opalinum, 
which  may  be  called  the  opal  insect,  came  under  the  ship's 
stern,  making  the  very  sea  appear  of  uncommon  beauty,  their 
colours  appearing  with  vast  brightness  even  at  the  depth  of 
two  or  three  fathoms,  though  they  are  not  more  than  three 
lines  long  and  one  broad. 

*lt~h.  On  examining  the  Dagysce  which  were  taken  yester- 
day several  small  animals  were  found  lodged  in  the  hollow 
parts  of  their  bodies,  and  some  in  the  very  substance  of 
their  flesh,  which  seems  to  be  their  food,  as  many  of  the 
Dagysce  were  full  of  scars,  which  had  undoubtedly  been  the 
lodgment  of  these  animals  some  time  before.  Upon  a 
minute  inspection  they  proved  to  be  animals  not  to  be 
classed  under  Linnseus's  genera,  though  nearly  related  to 
Oniscus,  from  which  circumstance  the  name  of  Onidium 
was  given  to  the  new  genus,  and  to  them  was  added  an 
animal  taken  on  the  28th  of  August,  and  mentioned  by 
the  name  of  Oniscus  macrophthalmus. 

In  one  particular  these  insects  differ  from  any  hitherto 


SEPT.  1768  MADEIRA 


described,  and  in  that  they  all  three  agree,  viz.  in  having 
two  eyes  joined  together  under  one  common  membrane 
without  the  least  distinction  or  division  between  them,  which 
circumstance  alone  seems  a  sufficient  reason  for  constituting 
a  new  genus. 

10th.  To-day  for  the  first  time  we  dined  in  Africa,  and 
took  leave  of  Europe  for  heaven  alone  knows  how  long, 
perhaps  for  ever ;  that  thought  demands  a  sigh  as  a  tribute 
due  to  the  memory  of  friends  left  behind,  and  they  have  it, 
but  two  cannot  be  spared,  'twould  give  more  pain  to  the 
sigher  than  pleasure  to  those  sighed  for.  'Tis  enough  that 
they  are  remembered :  they  would  not  wish  to  be  too  much 
thought  of  by  one  so  long  to  be  separated  from  them,  and 
left  alone  to  the  mercy  of  winds  and  waves. 

12th.  At  ten  to-night  came  to  an  anchor  in  Funchiale 
Bay,  Madeira. 

13th-18th.  The  product  boat l  (as  it  is  called  by  English 
sailors)  from  the  officers  of  health,  whose  leave  must  be 
obtained  before  any  ship's  crew  can  land,  came  on  board  about 
eleven,  and  we  immediately  went  on  shore  in  the  town 
of  Funchiale,  the  capital  of  the  island,  situate  in  latitude 
32°  40'  N.  It  is  so  called  from  the  fennel  which  grows  in 
plenty  upon  the  rocks  in  its  neighbourhood,  and  is  called 
funcho  in  Portuguese.  Here  we  immediately  went  to  the 
house  of  the  English  consul,  Mr.  Cheap,  one  of  the  first 
merchants  in  the  place,  where  we  were  received  with  un- 
common marks  of  civility,  he  insisting  upon  our  taking 
possession  of  his  house,  and  living  entirely  with  him  during 
our  stay,  which  we  did,  and  were  by  him  furnished  with 
every  accommodation  that  we  could  wish  for.  Leave  was 
procured  by  him  for  us  to  search  the  island  for  whatever 
natural  productions  we  might  find  worth  noticing ;  people 
were  also  employed  to  procure  for  us  fish  and  shells  ;  horses 
and  guides  were  obtained  for  Dr.  Solander  and  myself 
to  carry  us  to  any  part  of  the  island  which  we  might 
choose  to  visit.  But  our  very  short  stay,  which  was  only 
five  days,  made  it  impossible  to  go  to  any  distance ;  so  we 

1  i.e.  the  pratique  boat. 


6  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

contented  ourselves  with  collecting  as  much  as  we  could  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  town,  never  going  above  three 
miles  from  it  during  our  whole  stay. 

The  season  of  the  year  was  undoubtedly  the  worst 
for  both  plants  and  insects,  being  that  of  the  vintage, 
when  nothing  is  green  in  the  country,  except  just  on  the 
verge  of  small  brooks,  by  which  their  vines  are  watered ; 
we  made  shift,  however,  to  collect  specimens  of  several 
plants,  etc. 

The  five  days  which  we  remained  upon  the  island  were 
spent  so  exactly  in  the  same  manner  that  it  is  by  no  means 
necessary  to  divide  them.  I  shall  therefore  only  say  that 
in  general  we  got  up  in  the  morning,  went  out  on  our 
researches,  returned  to  dine,  and  went  out  again  in  the 
evening.  On  one  day,  however,  we  had  a  visit  from  the 
Governor,  of  which  we  had  notice  beforehand,  and  were 
obliged  to  stay  at  home ;  so  that  this  unsought  honour  lost 
us  very  nearly  the  whole  day,  a  very  material  part  of  the 
short  time  we  were  allowed  to  stay  upon  the  island.  "We, 
however,  contrived  to  revenge  ourselves  upon  his  Excellency 
by  means  of  an  electrical  machine  which  we  had  on  board ; 
for,  upon  his  expressing  a  desire  to  see  it,  we  sent  for  it 
ashore,  and  shocked  him  fully  as  much  as  he  chose. 

While  here  we  were  much  indebted  to  Dr.  Heberden, 
the  chief  physician  of  the  island,  and  brother  to  the  physician 
of  that  name  at  London.  He  had  for  many  years  been  an 
inhabitant  of  the  Canaries,  and  of  this  island,  and  had 
made  several  observations,  chiefly  philosophical ;  some,  how- 
ever, were  botanical,  describing  the  trees  of  the  island.  Of 
these  he  immediately  gave  us  a  copy,  together  with  such 
specimens  as  he  had  in  his  possession,  and  indeed  spared 
no  pains  to  get  for  us  living  specimens  of  such  as  could  be 
procured  in  flower. 

We  tried  here  to  learn  what  species  of  wood  it  is  which 
has  been  imported  into  England,  and  is  now  known  to  cabinet- 
makers by  the  name  of  Madeira  mahogany,  but  without 
much  success,  as  we  could  not  learn  that  any  wood  had 
been  exported  from  the  island  by  that  name.  The  wood, 


SEPT.  1768  MADEIRA 


however,  of  the  tree  called  here  Vigniatico,  Laurus  indicus,1 
Linn.,  bids  fair  to  be  the  thing,  it  being  of  a  fine  grain  and 
brown  like  mahogany,  from  which  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
it,  as  is  well  shown  at  Dr.  Heberden's  house,  where,  in  a 
book-case,  mgniatico  and  mahogany  were  placed  close  by 
each  other,  and  were  only  to  be  known  asunder  by  the 
first  being  of  not  quite  so  dark  a  colour  as  the  other. 

As  much  of  the  island  as  we  saw  showed  evident  signs 
of  a  volcano  having  some  time  or  other  possibly  produced 
the  whole,  for  we  saw  no  one  piece  of  stone  which  did  not 
clearly  show  signs  of  having  been  burnt,  some  very  much, 
specially  the  sand,  which  was  absolutely  cinders.  Indeed, 
we  did  not  see  much  of  the  country,  but  we  were  told  that 
the  whole  resembled  the  specimen  we  saw  of  it. 

When  first  approached  from  seaward  the  land  has  a  very 
beautiful  appearance,  the  sides  of  the  hills  being  entirely 
covered  with  vineyards  almost  as  high  as  the  eye  can 
distinguish.  This  gives  a  constant  appearance  of  verdure, 
although  at  this  time  nothing  but  the  vines  remain  green, 
the  grass  and  herbs  being  entirely  burnt  up,  except  near 
the  rills  by  which  the  vines  are  watered  and  under  the 
shade  of  the  vines  themselves.  But  even  there  very  few 
species  of  plants  were  in  perfection,  the  greater  part  being 
burnt  up. 

The  people  here  in  general  seem  to  be  as  idle,  or  rather 
uninformed,  a  set,  as  I  ever  yet  saw ;  all  their  instruments, 
even  those  with  which  their  wine,  the  only  article  of  trade 
in  the  island,  is  made,  are  perfectly  simple  and  unimproved. 
In  making  wine  the  grapes  are  put  into  a  square  wooden 
vessel,  of  dimensions  depending  upon  the  size  of  the  vine- 
yard to  which  it  belongs,  into  which  the  servants  get 
(having  taken  off  their  stockings  and  jackets),  and  with 
their  feet  and  elbows  squeeze  out  as  much  of  the  juice  as 
they  can ;  the  stalks,  etc.,  are  then  collected,  tied  together 
with  a  rope,  and  put  under  a  square  piece  of  wood  which  is 
pressed  down  by  a  lever,  to  the  other  end  of  which  is 
fastened  a  stone  that  may  be  raised  up  at  pleasure  by  a 
1  Persea  indica,' Spreng. 


8  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

screw.  By  this  means  and  this  only  they  make  their  wine, 
and  by  this  probably  Noah  made  his  when  he  had  newly 
planted  the  first  vineyard  after  the  general  destruction  of 
mankind  and  their  arts,  although  it  is  not  impossible  that 
he  might  have  used  a  better,  if  he  remembered  the  methods 
he  had  seen  before  the  flood. 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  some  (and  not  as  yet  all) 
of  them  were  persuaded  not  long  ago  to  graft  their  vines, 
and  by  this  means  bring  all  the  fruit  of  a  vineyard  to  be  of 
one  sort.  Formerly  the  wine  had  been  spoiled  by  various 
inferior  kinds  of  vines,  which  were  nevertheless  suffered  to 
grow,  and  taken  as  much  care  of  as  the  best,  because  they 
added  to  the  quantity  of  the  wine.  Yet  they  were  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  grafting,  and  constantly  practised 
it  on  their  chestnut  trees,  by  which  means  they  were  brought 
to  bear  much  sooner  than  they  would  have  done  had  they 
been  allowed  to  remain  unimproved. 

Wheeled  carriages  I  saw  none  of  any  sort  or  kind; 
indeed  their  roads  are  so  intolerably  bad,  that  if  they  had 
any  they  could  scarcely  make  use  of  them.  They  have, 
however,  some  horses  and  mules  wonderfully  clever  in 
travelling  upon  these  roads,  notwithstanding  which  they 
bring  every  drop  of  wine  to  town  upon  men's  heads  in 
vessels  made  of  goat-skins.  The  only  imitation  of  a  carriage 
which  they  have  is  a  board  slightly  hollowed  in  the  middle, 
to  one  end  of  which  a  pole  is  tied  by  a  strap  of  white 
leather,  the  whole  machine  coming  about  as  near  the  perfec- 
tion of  an  European  cart  as  an  Indian  canoe  does  to  a  boat ; 
with  this  they  move  the  pipes  of  wine  about  the  town.  I 
suppose  they  would  never  have  made  use  even  of  this  had 
not  the  English  introduced  vessels  to  contain  the  wine, 
which  were  rather  too  large  to  be  carried  by  hand,  as  they 
used  to  do  everything  else. 

A  speech  of  their  late  Governor  is  recorded  here,  which 
shows  in  what  light  they  are  looked  upon  even  by  the 
Portuguese  (themselves,  I  believe,  far  behind  all  the  rest  of 
Europe,  except  possibly  the  Spaniards).  "  It  was  very 
fortunate,"  said  he,  "  that  the  island  was  not  Eden,  in  which 


SEPT.  1768  MADEIRA 


Adam  and  Eve  dwelt  before  the  fall,  for  had  it  been  so,  the 
inhabitants  here  would  never  have  been  induced  to  put  on 
clothes ;  so  much  are  they  resolved  in  every  particular  to 
follow  exactly  the  paths  of  their  forefathers." 

Indeed,  were  the  people  here  only  tolerably  industrious, 
there  is  scarcely  any  luxury  which  might  not  be  produced 
that  either  Europe  or  the  Indies  afford,  owing  to  the  great 
difference  of  climate  observable  in  ascending  the  hills.  This 
we  experienced  on  a  visit  to  Dr.  Heberden,  who  lives  about  two 
miles  from  the  town ;  we  left  the  thermometer  when  we  set 
out  at  74°,  and  found  it  there 'at  66°.  The  hills  produce 
almost  spontaneously  vast  quantities  of  walnuts,  chestnuts,  and 
apples,  but  in  the  town  you  find  some  few  plants  natives  of  both 
the  Indies,  whose  nourishing  state  puts  it  out  of  all  doubt, 
that  were  they  taken  any  care  of,  they  might  have  any  quantity 
of  them.  Of  such  they  have  the  banana  (Musa  sapientum, 
Linn.)  in  great  abundance,  the  guava  (Psidium  pyriferum, 
Linn.)  not  uncommon,  and  the  pine-apple  (Bromelia  Ananas, 
Linn.) — of  this  I  saw  some  very  healthy  plants  in  the  provi- 
sion-garden, the  mango  (Mangifera  indica,  Linn.) — one  plant 
also  of  this  in  the  same  garden  bearing  fruit  every  year,  and 
the  cinnamon  (Laurus  Cinnamomum,  Linn.) — very  healthy 
plants  of  which  I  saw  on  the  top  of  Dr.  Heberden's  house 
at  Funchiale,  which  had  stood  there  through  the  winter 
without  any  kind  of  care  having  been  taken  of  them. 
These,  without  mentioning  any  more,  seem  very  sufficient  to 
show  that  the  tenderest  plants  might  be  cultivated  here 
without  any  trouble ;  yet  the  indolence  of  the  inhabitants 
is  so  great,  that  even  that  is  too  much  for  them.  Indeed, 
the  policy  here  is  to  hinder  them  as  much  as  possible 
from  growing  anything  themselves  except  what  they  find 
their  account  in  taking  in  exchange  for  corn,  though  the 
people  might  with  much  less  trouble  and  expense  grow 
the  corn  themselves.  What  corn  does  grow  here  (it  is  not 
much)  is  of  a  most  excellent  quality,  large-grained  and  very 
fine.  Their  meat  also  is  very  good,  mutton,  pork,  and  beef 
more  especially,  which  was  agreed  by  all  of  us  to  be  very 
little  inferior  to  our  own,  though  we  Englishmen  value  ourselves 


io  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

not  a  little  on  our  peculiar  excellence  in  that  production. 
The  fat  of  this  was  white,  like  the  fat  of  mutton,  but  the 
meat  brown  and  coarse-grained  as  ours,  though  much 
smaller. 

The  town  of  Funchiale  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of  the 
bay,  very  ill-built,  though  larger  than  the  size  of  the  island 
seems  to  deserve.  The  houses  of  the  better  people  are  in 
general  large,  but  those  of  the  poorer  sort  very  small,  and 
the  streets  very  narrow  and  uncommonly  ill-paved.  The 
churches  here  have  abundance  of  ornaments,  chiefly  bad 
pictures,  and  figures  of  their  favourite  saints  in  laced  clothes. 
The  Convent  of  the  Franciscans,  indeed,  which  we  went  to 
see,  had  very  little  ornament ;  but  the  neatness  with  which 
those  fathers  kept  everything  was  well  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion, especially  their  infirmary,  the  contrivance  of  which 
deserves  to  be  particularly  noticed.  It  was  a  long  room ; 
on  one  side  were  windows  and  an  altar  for  the  convenience 
of  administering  the  sacrament  to  the  sick,  on  the  other 
were  the  wards,  each  just  capable  of  containing  a  bed,  and 
lined  with  white  Dutch  tiles.  To  every  one  of  these  was  a 
door  communicating  with  a  gallery  which  ran  parallel  to  the 
great  room,  so  that  any  of  the  sick  might  be  supplied  with 
whatever  they  wanted  without  disturbing  their  neighbours. 

In  this  convent  was  a  curiosity  of  a  very  singular  nature  : 
a  small  chapel  whose  whole  lining,  wainscot  and  ceiling,  was 
entirely  composed  of  human  bones,  two  large  thigh  bones 
being  laid  crossways,  with  a  skull  in  each  of  the  openings. 
Among  these  was  a  very  singular  anatomical  curiosity :  a 
skull  in  which  one  side  of  the  lower  jaw  was  perfectly  and 
very  firmly  fastened  to  the  upper  by  an  ossification,  so  that 
the  man,  whoever  he  was,  must  have  lived  some  time  without 
being  able  to  open  his  mouth ;  indeed  it  was  plain  that  a 
hole  had  been  made  on  the  other  side  by  beating  out  his 
teeth,  and  in  some  measure  damaging  his  jawbone,  by  which 
alone  he  must  have  received  his  nourishment. 

I  must  not  leave  these  good  fathers  without  mentioning 
a  thing  which  does  great  credit  to  their  civility,  and  at  the 
same  time  shows  that  they  are  not  bigots  in  their  religion. 


SEPT.  1768  MADEIRA 


ii 


We  visited  them  on  Thursday  evening,  just  before  their 
supper-time  ;  they  made  many  apologies,  that  they  could  not 
ask  us  to  sup,  not  being  prepared  ;  "  but,"  said  they,  "  if  you 
will  come  to-morrow,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  a  fast  with 
us,  we  will  have  a  turkey  roasted  for  you." 

There  are  here  besides  friaries,  three  or  four  houses  of 
nuns.  To  one  of  these  (Saint  Clara)  we  went,  and  indeed 
the  ladies  did  us  the  honour  to  express  great  pleasure  in 
seeing  us  there.  They  had  heard  that  we  were  great 
philosophers,  and  expected  much  from  us :  one  of  the  first 
questions  that  they  asked  was  when  it  would  thunder  ;  they 
then  desired  to  know  if  we  could  put  them  in  a  way  of  find- 
ing water  in  their  convent,  of  which  it  seems  they  were  in 
want.  Notwithstanding  that  our  answers  to  their  questions 
were  not  quite  so  much  to  the  purpose  as  they  expected, 
they  did  not  at  all  cease  their  civilities  ;  for  while  we  stayed, 
which  was  about  half  an  hour,  I  am  sure  that  there  was  not 
a  fraction  of  a  second  in  which  their  tongues  did  not  go  at 
an  uncommonly  nimble  rate. 

It  remains  now  that  I  should  say  something  of  the 
island  in  general,  and  then  take  my  leave  of  Madeira  till 
some  other  opportunity  offers  of  visiting  it  again,  for  the 
climate  is  so  fine  that  any  man  might  wish  it  was  in  his 
power  to  live  there  under  the  benefits  of  English  laws  and 
liberty. 

The  hills  here  are  very  high,  much  higher  than  any  one 
would  imagine ;  Pico  Euievo,  the  highest,  is  5068  feet,1 
which  is  much  higher  than  any  land  that  has  been  measured 
in  Great  Britain.  The  whole  island,  as  I  hinted  before,  has 
probably  been  the  production  of  a  volcano,  notwithstanding 
which  its  fertility  is  amazing :  all  the  sides  of  the  hills 
are  covered  with  vines  to  a  certain  height,  above  which 
are  woods  of  chestnut  and  pine  of  immense  extent,  and 
above  them  forests  of  wild  timber  of  kinds  not  known  in 
Europe,  which  amply  supply  the  inhabitants  with  whatever 
they  may  want.  Among  these,  some  there  were  whose 
flowers  we  were  not  able  to  procure,  and  consequently  could 

1  6059  feet  by  more  recent  measurement. 


12  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

not  settle  their  genera,  particularly  those  called  by  the 
Portuguese  mirmulano  and  pao  branco,1  both  which,  and 
especially  the  first,  from  the  beauty  of  their  leaves,  promise 
to  be  a  great  ornament  to  our  European  gardens. 

The  inhabitants  here  are  supposed  to  number  about 
80,000,  and  from  the  town  of  Funchiale  (its  custom- 
house I  mean)  the  King  of  Portugal  receives  £20,000  a 
year,  after  having  paid  the  Governor  and  all  expenses  of 
every  kind,  which  may  serve  to  show  in  some  degree  of 
what  consequence  this  little  island  is  to  the  Crown  of 
Portugal.  Were  it  in  the  hands  of  any  other  people  in  the 
world  its  value  might  easily  be  doubled  from  the  excellence 
of  its  climate,  capable  of  bearing  any  kind  of  crop,  a  cir- 
cumstance of  which  the  Portuguese  do  not  take  the  least 
advantage. 

The  coin  current  here  is  entirely  Spanish,  for  the  balance 
of  trade  with  Lisbon  being  in  disfavour  of  this  island,  all  the 
Portuguese  money  naturally  goes  there,  to  prevent  which 
Spanish  money  is  allowed  to  pass ;  it  is  of  three  denomina- 
tions, pistereens,  bitts,  and  half  bitts,  the  first  worth  about 
a  shilling,  the  second  6d.,  the  third  3d.  They  have  also 
copper  Portuguese  money,  but  it  is  so  scarce  that  I  did  not 
in  my  stay  there  see  a  single  piece.2 

18tk.  This  evening  got  under  weigh. 

20th.  Took  with  the  casting-net  a  most  beautiful  species 
of  Medusa  of  a  colour  equalling,  if  not  exceeding,  the  finest 
ultramarine ;  it  was  described  and  called  Medusa  azurea. 

23rd.  A  fish  was  taken  which  was  described  and  called 
Scomber  serpens ;  the  seamen  said  they  had  never  seen  it 
before,  except  the  first  lieutenant,  who  remembered  to  have 
taken  one  before  just  about  these  islands.  Sir  Hans  Sloane  3 
in  his  passage  out  to  Jamaica  also  took  one  of  these  fish, 
and  gives  a  figure  of  it  (vol.  i.  t.  i.  f.  2). 

24th.  This  morning  the  Pike  [of  Teneriffe]  appeared  very 
plainly,  and  immensely  high  above  the  clouds,  as  may  well 

1  Probably  Apollonias  canariensis,  Nees ;  and  Oreodaphne  fcetens,  Nees. 

2  Here  Banks  has  a  list  of  18  Madeiran  fish  and  299  plants. 

3  For  notes  on  the  naturalists  and  travellers  mentioned  throughout  the 
Journal,  see  pp.  xliii.-li. 


SEPT.  1768  TENERIFFE  I3 

be  imagined  by  its  height,  which  Dr.  Heberden  of  Madeira, 
who  has  been  himself  upon  it,  gave  as  15,396  feet.1  The 
Doctor  also  says  that  though  there  is  no  eruption  of  visible 
fire  from  it,  yet  that  heat  issues  from  the  chinks  near  the  top 
so  strongly,  that  a  person  who  puts  his  hand  into  these  is 
scalded.  From  him  we  received,  among  many  other  favours, 
some  salt  which  he  supposes  to  be  true  natron  or  nitrum  of 
the  ancients,  and  some  exceedingly  pure  native  sulphur, 
both  which  he  collected  himself  on  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
where  large  quantities,  especially  of  the  salt,  are  found  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth. 

25th.  Wind  continued  to  blow  much  as  it  has  done,  so 
we  were  sure  we  were  well  in  the  trade.  Now  for  the  first 
time  we  saw  flying-fish,  whose  beauty,  especially  when  seen 
from  the  cabin  window,  is  beyond  imagination,  their  sides 
shining  like  burnished  silver.  Seen  from  the  deck  they  do 
not  appear  to  such  advantage,  as  their  backs,  which  are  dark- 
coloured,  are  then  presented  to  view. 

27th.  About  one  this  morning  a  flying-fish,  the  first  that 
had  been  taken,  was  brought  into  the  cabin ;  it  flew  aboard, 
chased,  I  suppose,  by  some  other  fish,  or  may  be  because  he 
did  not  see  the  ship ;  at  breakfast  another  was  brought, 
which  had  flown  into  Mr.  Green  the  astronomer's  cabin. 

2Stk.  Three  birds  were  to-day  about  the  ship  :  a  swallow, 
to  all  appearance  the  same  as  our  European  one,  and  two 
Motacillce ;  about  nightfall  one  of  the  latter  was  taken. 
About  eleven  a  shoal  of  porpoises  came  about  the  ship,  and 
the  fizgig  was  soon  thrown  into  one  of  them,  but  would  not 
hold. 

29th.  Employed  in  drawing  and  describing  the  bird 
taken  yesterday;  called  it  Motacilla  avida.  While  the 
drawing  was  in  hand,  it  became  very  familiar,  so  much  so 
that  we  had  a  brace  made  for  it  in  hopes  of  keeping  it  alive  ; 
as  flies  were  in  amazing  abundance  on  board  the  ship,  we 
had  no  fear  but  that  the  bird  would  have  a  plentiful  supply 
of  provision. 

About   noon  a  young  shark  was  seen  from  the  cabin 

1  12,300  feet  by  more  recent  measurement. 


I4  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

windows  following  the  ship.  It  immediately  took  a  bait 
and  was  hauled  on  board.  It  proved  to  be  the  Sgualus 
carcharias,  Linn.,  and  assisted  us  in  clearing  up  much 
confusion,  which  almost  all  authors  had  made  about  that 
species.  With  it  came  on  board  four  sucking-fish,  Ucheneis 
remora,  Linn.,  which  were  preserved  in  spirits.  Although 
it  was  twelve  o'clock  before  the  shark  was  taken,  we  made 
shift  to  have  a  part  of  him  stewed  for  dinner,  and  very 
good  meat  he  was,  at  least  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Solander 
and  myself,  though  some  of  the  seamen  did  not  seem  to  be 
fond  of  him,  probably  from  some  prejudice  founded  on  the 
species  sometimes,  feeding  on  human  flesh. 

30th.  This  evening  another  Motacilla  avida  was  brought 
to  us ;  it  differed  scarcely  at  all  from  the  first  taken,  except 
that  it  was  somewhat  larger ;  its  head,  however,  gave  us 
some  material,  by  supplying  us  with  nearly  twenty  specimens 
of  ticks,  which  differed  but  little  from  Acarus  ricinus,  Linn. ; 
it  was,  however,  described,  and  called  Acarus  motacillce. 

1st  October.  Bonitos  were  in  great  plenty  about  the  ship. 
We  were  called  up  early  to  see  one  that  had  been  struck 
and  found  it  to  be  the  Scomber  pelamis,  Linn.,  a  drawing 
being  made  of  it.  I  confess,  however,  that  I  was  a  good 
deal  disappointed,  expecting  to  find  the  animal  much  more 
beautiful  than  it  proved,  though  its  colours  were  extremely 
lively,  especially  the  blue  lines  on  the  back  (which  equalled 
at  least  any  ultramarine),  yet  the  name,  and  the  accounts  I 
had  heard  from  all  who  had  seen  them,  made  me  expect  an 
animal  of  much  greater  variety  of  colour.  This  consisted 
merely  of  blue  lines  on  the  back,  crossing  each  other,  a 
changeable  gold  and  purple  on  the  sides,  and  white  with 
black  lines  on  the  bottom  of  the  sides  and  belly.  After 
having  examined  and  drawn  the  animal,  we  proceeded  to 
dissect  it,  and  in  the  course  of  the  operation  were  much 
pleased  by  the  infinite  strength  we  observed  in  every  part 
of  him,  especially  the  stomach,  the  coats  of  which  were 
uncommonly  strong,  especially  about  the  sphincter,  or 
extremity  by  which  the  digested  meat  is  discharged ;  this 
I  suppose  is  intended  to  crush  and  render  useful  the  scales 


OCT.  1768  MARINE  ANIMALS  !5 

and  bones  of  fishes  which  this  animal  must  continually 
swallow  without  separating  them  from  the  flesh.  From  the 
outside  of  its  scales  we  took  a  small  animal  which  seemed 
to  be  a  louse  (if  I  may  so  call  it),  as  it  certainly  stuck  to 
him,  and  preyed  upon  the  juices  which  it  extracted  by 
suction,  probably  much  to  his  disquiet :  it  proved  to  be 
Monoculus  piscinus,  Linn.  Baster  has  given  a  figure  of  it  in 
his  "  Opera  Subseciva,"  but  has  by  some  unlucky  accident 
mistaken  the  head  for  the  tail.  Inside  the  fish  were  also 
found  two  animals  which  preyed  upon  him;  one  Fasciola 
pelami,  Mss.,  in  his  very  flesh,  though  near  the  membrane 
which  covers  the  intestines ;  the  other  Sipunculus  piscium, 
Mss.,  in  the  stomach. 

2nd.  This  morning  two  swallows  were  about  the  ship, 
though  we  must  now  be  sixty  leagues  at  least  from  any  land  ; 
at  night  one  of  them  was  taken,  and  proved  to  be  Hirundo 
domestica,  Linn. 

4ith.  I  went  out  in  a  boat  and  took  Dagysa  strumosa, 
Medusa  porpita,  which  we  had  before  called  azurea,  Mimus 
volutator J  and  a  Cimex,  which  runs  upon  the  water  here  in  the 
same  manner  as  C.  lacustris  does  in  our  ponds  in  England. 
Towards  evening  two  small  fish  were  taken  under  the  stern ; 
they  were  following  a  shirt  which  was  towing,  and  showed 
not  the  least  signs  of  fear,  so  that  they  were  taken  with  a 
landing-net  without  the  smallest  difficulty.  They  proved  to 
be  Balistes  monoceros,  Linn. 

*7th.  Went  out  in  the  boat,  and  took  what  is  called  by 
the  seamen  a  Portuguese  man-of-war,  Holothuria  physalis,- 
Linn.,  also  Medusa  velella,  Linn.,  Onidium  spinosum,  Mss., 
Diodon  erinaceus,  Mss.,  Dagysa  mtrea,  Mss.,  Helix  ianthina, 
Linn.,  violacea,  Mss.,  and  Procellaria  oceanica,  Mss.  The 
Holothuria  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sights  I  had  ever  seen ;  it  consisted  of  a  small  bladder,  in 
shape  much  like  the  air-bladder  of  a  fish,  from  the 
bottom  of  which  descended  a  number  of  strings  of  bright 
blue  and  red,  some  three  or  four  feet  in  length ;  if  touched, 

1  This  cannot  be  identified. 

2  The  Portuguese  man-of-war  is  now  known  as  Physalia,  and  is  classed 
among  the  Ccelentemta. 


16  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

these  stung  the  person  who  touched  them  in  the  same 
manner  as  nettles,  only  much  more  severely.  On  the  top 
of  this  bladder  was  a  membrane  which  he  turned  either  one 
way  or  the  other  to  receive  the  wind ;  this  was  veined  with 
pink,  in  an  uncommonly  beautiful  manner;  in  short,  the 
whole  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sights  I  have  seen 
among  the  mollusca,  though  many  of  them  are  beautiful. 

The  floating  shells,  Helix  ianthina1  and  violacea,  from 
their  particularity,  also  deserve  mention.  They  are  to  be 
found  floating  on  the  top  of  the  water  by  means  of  a  small 
cluster  of  bubbles  filled  with  air,  composed  of  a  tenacious 
slimy  substance,  not  easily  parting  with  its  contents ;  these 
keep  them  suspended  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  serve 
as  a  nidus  for  their  eggs :  it  is  probable  that  they  never  go 
down  to  the  bottom,  or  willingly  come  near  any  shore,  as 
the  shell  is  of  so  brittle  a,  construction  that  few  sea-water 
snails  are  so  thin. 

Every  shell  contains  within  it  about  a  teaspoonful  of 
liquid,  which  it  freely  discharges  on  being  touched ;  this  is 
of  a  most  beautiful  red  purple  colour,  and  easily  dyes  linen 
clothes ;  it  may  be  well  worth  inquiry  whether  or  not  this 
is  the  purpura  2  of  the  ancients,  as  the  shell  is  certainly  found 
in  the  Mediterranean.  We  have  not  yet  taken  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  the  shells  to  try  the  experiment,  perhaps  we 
shall  soon. 

Procellaria  oceanica  differs  very  little  from  P.  pelagica, 
Linn.,  but  from  his  place  of  abode  so  far  south,  and  some 
small  difference  in  plumage,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  he 
is  different  in  species. 

9th.  Found  two  new  species  of  Lepas  (vittata  and  midas) 
on  the  stern  of  the  ship ;  they  were  both  sticking  to  the 
bottom,  in  company  with  L.  anatifera,  of  which  there  was 
great  abundance. 

IQth.  Took  plenty  of  Helix  ianthina  and  some  few  of 
violacea.  Shot  the  black-toed  gull  of  Pennant ;  it  had  not 

1  These  two  species  are  not  Helices,  but  belong  to  the  genus  Ianthina. 

2  The  purple  of  the  ancients  has  since  been  proved  to  have  been  derived 
from  a  species  of  Murex  or  of  Purpura. 


OCT.  1768  MARINE  ANIMALS  I? 

yet  been  described  according  to  Linnseus's  system,  so  called 
it  Larus  crepidatus.  Its  food  here  seems  to  be  chiefly 
Helices,  on  account  of  its  dung  being  of  a  lively  red  colour, 
much  like  that  which  was  procured  from  the  shells. 

1 2th.  A  shark,  Sgualus  carcharias,  Linn.,  taken  this  morn- 
ing, and  with  it  two  pilot  fish.  I  went  out  in  the  boat 
and  took  several  blubbers.  The  pilot  fish,  Gasterosteus  dwtor, 
Linn.,  is  certainly  as  beautiful  a  fish  as  can  be  imagined ;  it 
is  of  a  light  blue,  with  cross  streaks  of  darker  colour.  It  is 
wonderful  to  see  them  about  a  shark,  swimming  round  it 
without  expressing  the  least  signs  of  fear ;  what  their 
motive  for  doing  so  is,  I  cannot  guess,  as  I  cannot  find 
that  they  get  any  provision  by  it,  or  any  other  emolument, 
except  possibly  that  the  company  of  the  shark  keeps  them 
free  from  the  attacks  of  dolphins  or  other  large  fish  of 
prey,  who  would  otherwise  devour  them. 

The  blubbers  taken  to-day  were  Beroe  labiata  and  mar- 
supialis,  Mas.,  the  first  of  which  made  a  pretty  appearance 
in  the  water  by  reason  of  its  swimmers,  which  line  its  side 
like  fringes,  and  are  of  a  fine  changeable  colour ;  and 
Callirrhoe  bivia,  Mss.,  the  most  lifeless  lump  of  jelly  I 
have  seen ;  it  scarcely  seems  to  be  possessed  of  life,  but  for 
one  or  two  motions  we  saw  it  make. 

13th.  A  shark  taken,  but  not  one  pilot  fish  attended 
it,  which  is  rather  uncommon,  as  they  are  seldom  without 
a  shoal  of  from  ten  to  twenty.  At  noon  I  went  in  the 
boat,  and  took  the  Sallee  man,  PJiyllodoce  velella,  Linn.,  which 
is  a  sailor,  but  inferior  in  size  to  the  Portuguese  man-of- 
war,  yet  not  without  its  beauty,  chiefly  from  the  charming 
blue  of  the  lower  side.  Its  sail  is  transparent,  but  not 
movable,  so  it  trusts  itself  to  the  mercy  of  the  winds, 
without  being  able  to  turn  to  windward,  as  the  Portuguese 
man-of-war  perhaps  can.  We  saw  several  of  these  latter 
to-day,  and  observed  many  small  fish  under  their  tentacula, 
which  seemed  to  shelter  there,  as  if  with  its  stings  it  could 
defend  them  from  large  enemies. 

1 5th.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  a  bird  of  the  shear- 
water kind,  which  I  shot ;  it  proved  not  to  have  been 

c 


i8  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

described.  It  was  about  as  large  as  the  common  kind,  but 
differed  from  it  in  being  whiter,  especially  about  the  face. 
We  named  it  Procellaria  crepidata,  as  its  feet  were  like 
those  of  the  gulls  shot  last  week,  black  on  the  outside,  but 
white  near  the  legs.  A  large  shoal  of  fish  were  all  this 
day  under  the  ship's  stern,  playing  about,  but  refusing  to 
take  bait.  We  contrived  to  take  one  of  them  with  a  fizgig : 
it  was  in  make  and  appearance  like  a  carp,  weighing  nearly 
two  pounds.  Its  sides  were  ornamented  with  narrow  lines, 
and  its  fins  almost  entirely  covered  with  scales :  called  it 
Chcetodon  cyprinaceus. 

16th.  I  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  a  phenomenon  I 
had  never  before  met  with,  a  lunar  rainbow  which  appeared 
about  ten  o'clock,  very  faint,  and  almost  or  quite  without 
colour,  so  that  it  could  be  traced  by  little  more  than  an 
appearance  resembling  shade  on  a  cloud. 

18^.  This  evening,  trying,  as  I  have  often  (foolishly  no 
doubt)  done,  to  exercise  myself  by  playing  tricks  with  two 
ropes  in  the  cabin,  I  got  a  fall  which  hurt  me  a  good  deal, 
and  alarmed  me  the  more  as  the  blow  was  on  my  head,  and 
two  hours  after  it  I  was  taken  with  sickness  at  my  stomach, 
which  made  me  fear  some  ill  consequence. 

1 9th.  To-day,  thank  God,  I  was  much  better,  and  eased 
of  all  apprehensions. 

21st.  To-day  the  cat  killed  our  bird,  Motacilla  avida,  which 
had  lived  with  us  ever  since  the  29th  September  entirely  on 
the  flies  which  it  caught  for  itself:  it  was  hearty  and  in 
high  health,  so  that  it  might  have  lived  a  great  while  longer 
had  fate  been  more  kind. 

25th.  This  morning  about  eight  o'clock  we  crossed  the 
equinoctial  line  in  about  33°  W.  from  Greenwich,  at  the 
rate  of  four  knots,  which  our  seamen  said  was  uncommonly 
good,  the  thermometer  standing  at  79°.  (The  thermometers 
used  in  this  voyage  are  two  of  Mr.  Bird's  making,  after 
Fahrenheit's  scale,  and  seldom  differ  by  more  than  a  degree 
from  each  other,  and  that  only  when  they  are  as  high  as 
80°,  in  which  case  the  mean  reading  of  the  two  instruments 
is  set  down.)  This  evening  the  ceremony  of  ducking  the 


OCT.  1768  CROSSING  THE  EQUATOR  IQ 

ship's  company  was  performed,  as  is  always  customary  on 
crossing  the  line,  when  those  who  have  crossed  it  before 
claim  a  right  of  ducking  all  that  have  not.  The  whole 
of  the  ceremony  I  shall  describe. 

About  dinner-time  a  list  was  brought  into  the  cabin 
containing  the  names  of  everybody  and  thing  aboard  the  ship 
(in  which  the  dogs  and  cats  were  not  forgotten) ;  to  this 
was  fixed  a  signed  petition  from  the  ship's  company  desiring 
leave  to  examine  everybody  in  that  list,  that  it  might  be 
known  whether  or  not  they  had  crossed  the  line  before. 
This  was  immediately  granted,  everybody  being  called  upon 
the  quarter-deck  and  examined  by  one  of  the  lieutenants 
who  had  crossed  the  line :  he  marked  every  name  either  to 
be  ducked  or  let  off  as  their  qualifications  directed.  Captain 
Cook  and  Dr.  Solander  were  on  the  black  list,  as  were  I 
myself,  my  servants,  and  dogs,  for  all  of  whom  I  was  obliged 
to  compound  by  giving  the  duckers  a  certain  quantity  of 
brandy,  for  which  they  willingly  excused  us  the  ceremony. 

Many  of  the  men,  however,  chose  to  be  ducked  rather 
than  give  up  four  days'  allowance  of  wine,  which  was  the 
price  fixed  upon,  and  as  for  the  boys  they  are  always  ducked, 
of  course,  so  that  about  twenty-one  underwent  the  ceremony. 

A  block  was  made  fast  to  the  end  of  the  main-yard,  and 
a  long  line  reved  through  it,  to  which  three  pieces  of  wood 
were  fastened,  one  of  which  was  put  between  the  legs  of  the 
man  who  was  to  be  ducked,  and  to  this  he  was  tied  very 
fast,  another  was  for  him  to  hold  in  his  hands,  and  the 
third  was  over  his  head,  lest  the  rope  should  be  hoisted  too 
near  the  block,  and  by  that  means  the  man  be  hurt.  When 
he  was  fastened  upon  this  machine  the  boatswain  gave  the 
command  by  his  whistle,  and  the  man  was  hoisted  up  as 
high  as  the  cross-piece  over  his  head  would  allow,  when 
another  signal  was  made,  and  immediately  the  rope  was  let 
go,  and  his  own  weight  carried  him  down ;  he  was  then 
immediately  hoisted  up  again,  and  three  times  served  in 
this  manner,  which  was  every  man's  allowance.  Thus 
ended  the  diversion  of  the  day,  for  the  ducking  lasted  until 
almost  night,  and  sufficiently  diverting  it  certainly  was  to 


20  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

see  the  different  faces  that  were  made  on  this  occasion,  some 
grinning  and  exulting  in  their  hardiness,  whilst  others  were 
almost  suffocated,  and  came  up  ready  enough  to  have  com- 
pounded after  the  first  or  second  duck,  had  such  a  proceeding 
been  allowable. 

Almost  immediately  after  crossing  the  tropic  the  air  had 
sensibly  become  much  damper  than  usual,  though  not 
materially  hotter :  the  thermometer  in  general  stood  from 
80°  to  82°.  The  nearer  we  approached  to  the  calms,  the 
damper  everything  grew ;  this  was  very  perceptible  even  to 
the  human  body,  but  more  remarkable  was  its  effect  upon 
all  kinds  of  furniture.  Everything  made  of  iron  rusted  so 
fast  that  the  knives  in  people's  pockets  became  almost  use- 
less, and  the  razors  in  cases  did  not  escape ;  all  kinds  of 
leather  became  mouldy,  portfolios  and  trunks  covered  with 
black  leather  were  almost  white.  Soon  afterwards  this 
mould  adhered  to  almost  everything ;  all  the  books  in  my 
library  became  mouldy,  so  that  they  had  to  be  wiped  to 
preserve  them. 

About  this  time  we  came  into  the  calms,  which  we  met 
with  earlier  than  usual:  the  thermometer  was  then  at  83°, 
and  we  suffered  from  the  heat  and  damp  together.  Bathing, 
however,  kept  me  in  perfect  health,  although  many  of  the 
ship's  company  were  ill  of  bilious  complaints,  which,  how- 
ever, were  but  of  short  duration.  This  continued  till  we 
got  the  S.E.  trade,  when  the  air  became  cooler,  but  the 
dampness  continued  yet :  to  that  I  chiefly  attribute  the  ill- 
success  of  the  electrical  experiments,  of  which  I  have  written 
an  account  in  separate  papers,  that  the  different  experiments 
may  appear  at  one  view.1 

The  air,  during  the  whole  time  since  we  crossed  the 
tropic,  and  indeed  for  some  time  before,  has  been  nearly  of 
the  same  temperature  throughout  the  twenty -four  hours,  the 
thermometer  seldom  rising  more  than  a  degree  during  the 
time  the  sun  is  above  the  horizon ;  the  cabin  windows  have 
been  open  without  once  being  shut  ever  since  we  left  Madeira. 

2  9  tk.  This  evening  the  sea  appeared  uncommonly  beautiful, 
1  An  account  of  these  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


NOV.  1768  MARINE  ANIMALS 


21 


flashes  of  light  coming  from  it,  perfectly  resembling  small 
flashes  of  lightning,  and  these  so  frequent  that  sometimes 
eight  or  ten  were  visible  at  the  same  moment ;  the  seamen 
were  divided  in  their  accounts,  some  assuring  us  that  it  pro- 
ceeded from  fish,  who  made  the  light  by  agitating  the  salt 
water,  as  they  called  it,  in  their  darting  at  their  prey ;  while 
others  said  that  they  had  often  seen  them  to  be  nothing 
more  than  blubbers  (Medusae).  This  made  us  very  eager  to 
procure  some  of  them,  which  at  last  we  did  by  the  help  of  the 
landing-net ;  they  proved  to  be  a  species  of  Medusa,  which 
when  brought  on  board  appeared  like  metal  violently  heated, 
emitting  a  white  light.  On  the  surface  of  this  animal  was 
fixed  a  small  Lepas  of  exactly  the  same  colour  and  almost 
transparent,  not  unlike  thin  starch  in  which  a  small  quantity 
of  blue  is  dissolved.  In  taking  these  animals  three  or  four 
species  of  crabs  were  also  obtained,  of  which  one  very  small 
kind  gave  fully  as  much  light  as  a  glow-worm  in  England, 
though  the  creature  was  not  so  large  by  nine-tenths.  Indeed, 
the  sea  this  night  seemed  to  abound  with  light  in  an  unusual 
manner,  as  if  every  inhabitant  of  it  furnished  its  share ;  as 
might  have  been  the  case,  although  none  retained  that  pro- 
perty after  being  brought  out  of  the  water  except  the  two 
above  mentioned. 

30th.  Employed  in  examining  the  things  caught  last 
night,  which  being  taken  by  the  light  of  our  lamps  (for  the 
wind  which  blows  in  at  the  windows  always  open  will  not 
suffer  us  to  burn  candles)  we  could  hardly  then  distinguish 
into  genera,  much  less  into  species.  We  had  the  good 
fortune  to  find  that  they  were  all  quite  new,  and  named 
them  Medusa  pellucens,  Lepas  pellueens,  Clio,  Cancer  fulgens, 
and  Cancer  amplectens,  but  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose 
two  more  species  of  crabs  through  the  glass  in  which  they 
were  contained  falling  overboard.  Two  other  species  of 
crabs  were  taken,  one  of  which  was  very  singular. 

3 1  st.  Find  that  the  crabs  taken  yesterday  were  both 
new ;  called  them  vitreus  and  crassicornis. 

5th  November.  That  the  trade  blows  toward  the  northward 
upon  the  coast  of  Brazil  has  been  observed  long  ago,  although 


22  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

I  question  whether  our  navigators  are  yet  sufficiently  apprised 
of  it.  Piso,  in  his  Natural  History  of  the  Brazils,  says  that 
the  winds  along  shore  are  constantly  to  the  northward  from 
October  to  March,  and  to  the  southward  from  March  to 
October.  Dampier  also,  who  certainly  had  as  much  ex- 
perience as  most  men,  says  the  same  thing,  advising  ships 
outward  bound  to  keep  to  the  westward,  where  they  are 
almost  certain  to  find  the  trade  more  easterly  than  in  mid- 
channel,  where  it  is  sometimes  due  south,  or  within  half  a 
point  of  it,  as  we  ourselves  experienced. 

6th.  Towards  evening  the  colour^  of  the  water  was 
observed  to  change,  upon  which  we  sounded  and  found 
ground  at  thirty-two  fathoms.  The  lead  was  cast  three 
times  between  six  and  ten  without  finding  a  foot's  difference 
in  the  depth  or  quality  of  the  bottom,  which  was  encrusted 
with  coral.  We  supposed  this  to  be  the  tail  of  a  great  shoal 
laid  down  in  all  our  charts  by  the  name  of  Abrolhos,  on  which 
Lord  Anson  struck  soundings  on  his  outward  bound  passage. 

*lth.  About  noon  long  ranges  of  a  yellowish  colour  appear 
upon  the  sea,  many  of  them  very  large,  one  (the  largest) 
might  be  a  mile  in  length  and  three  or  four  hundred  yards 
in  width.  The  seamen  in  general  affirmed  roundly  that 
they  were  the  spawn  of  fishes,  and  that  they  had  often  seen 
the  same  appearance  before.  Upon  taking  up  some  of  the 
water  thus  coloured,  we  found  it  to  be  caused  by  innumerable 
small  atoms,  each  pointed  at  the  end,  and  of  a  yellowish 
colour,  none  of  them  above  a  quarter  of  a  line  in  length. 
In  the  microscope  they  appeared  to  be  fasciculi  of  small 
fibres  interwoven  one  within  the  other,  not  unlike  the  nidi 
of  some  Phryganece,  which  we  call  caddises  ;  what  they  were, 
or  for  what  purpose  designed,  we  could  not  even  guess,  nor 
so  much  as  distinguish  whether  their  substance  was  animal 
or  vegetable. 

Sth.  At  daybreak  to-day  we  made  the  land,  which 
proved  to  be  the  Continent  of  South  America,  in  latitude 
21°  16'.  About  ten  we  saw  a  fishing-boat,  whose  occupants 
told  us  that  the  country  formed  part  of  the  captainship  of 
Espirito  Santo. 


NOV.  1768  BRAZILIAN  FISHERMEN  23 

Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  on  board  this  boat,  in  which 
were  eleven  men  (nine  of  whom  were  blacks),  who  all  fished 
with  lines.  We  bought  the  chief  part  of  their  cargo,  consisting 
of  dolphins,  two  kinds  of  large  pelagic  scombers,  sea  bream, 
and  the  fish  called  in  the  West  Indies  Welshman,  for  which 
they  made  us  pay  nineteen  shillings  and  sixpence.  We  had 
taken  Spanish  silver  with  us,  which  we  imagined  was  the 
currency  of  the  country;  we  were  therefore  not  a  little 
surprised  that  they  asked  us  for  English  shillings,  and 
preferred  two,  which  we  by  accident  had,  to  the  pistereens, 
though  after  some  words  they  took  them  also.  The  business 
of  the  people  seemed  to  consist  in  going  a  good  distance 
from  land  and  catching  large  fish,  which  they  salted  in  bulk, 
in  the  middle  of  their  boat,  which  was  arranged  for  that 
purpose.  They  had  about  two  quintals  of  fish,  laid  in  salt, 
which  they  offered  for  sale  for  sixteen  shillings,  and  would 
doubtless  have  taken  half  the  money  had  we  been  inclined  to 
buy  them ;  but  fresh  provisions  were  all  we  wanted,  and 
the  fresh  fish  which  we  bought  served  for  the  whole  ship's 
company. 

Their  provisions  for  the  sea  consisted  of  a  cask  of  water 
and  a  bag  of  the  flour  of  cassada,  which  they  call  Farinha  ,    0?     ^ 
de  Pao,  or  wooden  flour,  a  very  proper  name  for  it,  as  indeed  . 
it  tastes  more  like  powdered  chips  than  anything  else.  ^*** ' 

Their  method  of  drinking  from  their  cask  was  truly 
primitive  and  pleased  me  much :  the  cask  was  large,  as 
broad  as  the  boat,  and  exactly  fitted  a  place  made  for  it  in 
the  ballast ;  they  consequently  could  not  get  at  the  bottom 
of  it  to  put  in  a  tap  by  which  the  water  might  be  drawn 
out.  To  remedy  this  difficulty  they  made  use  of  a  cane 
about  three  feet  long,  hollow,  and  open  at  each  end,  this  the 
man  who  wanted  to  drink  desired  his  neighbour  to  fill  for 
him,  which  he  did  by  putting  it  into  the  cask,  and  laying 
the  palm  of  his  hand  over  the  uppermost  end,  prevented 
the  water  from  running  out  of  the  lower,  to  which  the 
drinker  applied  his  mouth,  and  the  other  man  taking  away 
his  hand,  let  the  liquor  run  into  the  drinker's  mouth  till  he 
was  satisfied. 


24  ENGLAND  TO  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  i 

Soon  after  we  came  on  board,  a  Sphinx  was  taken, 
which  proved  to  be  quite  new,  and  a  small  bird,  Tanagra 
Jacarini,  Linn. ;  it  seemed,  however,  from  Linnseus's  descrip- 
tion, as  well  as  Edwards'  and  Brisson's,  that  neither  of  them 
had  seen  the  bird,  which  was  in  reality  a  Loxia  nitens. 

The  fish  brought  on  board  proved  to  be  Scomber  amia, 
S.  falcatus,  Coryphcena,  Hippurus  ?,  Sparus  pagrus  and  Scicena 
ruibens ;  the  second  and  last  not  being  before  described,  we 
called  them  by  these  names. 

1  Qth.  Species  of  seaweed  now  came  floating  by  the  ship.  It 
proved  to  be  Sargasso,  Fucus  natans, which  is  generally  supposed 
to  increase  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea  in  the  same  manner 
as  duckweed  (Lemna)  does  on  fresh-water,  without  having 
any  root ;  this,  however,  plainly  showed  that  it  had  been 
rooted  in  the  coral  rock  on  the  bottom,  as  two  specimens 
particularly  had  large  lumps  of  the  coral  still  adhering  to 
them.  Among  the  weed  were  some  few  animals,  but 
scarcely  worth  mentioning:  one  Balistes,  but  quite  a  fry, 
so  young  that  it  was  impossible  to  refer  it  to  its  species ; 
also  a  worm,  which  proved  to  be  Nereis  pelagica. 

12th.  This  morning  we  were  abreast  of  the  land,  which 
proved,  as  we  thought  last  night,  to  be  the  island  just  within 
Cape  Frio,  called  in  some  maps  the  Isle  of  Frio.  About 
noon  we  saw  the  hill  called  the  Sugar  Loaf,  which  is  just  by 
the  harbour's  mouth,  but  it  was  a  long  way  off  yet,  so  we 
had  no  hopes  of  reaching  it  this  night. 

The  shore  from  Cape  Frio  to  this  place  has  been  one 
uninterrupted  beach  of  the  whitest  colour  I  ever  saw,  which 
they  tell  me  is  a  white  sand. 

In  the  course  of  this  evening  we  approached  very  near 
the  land,  and  found  it  very  cold,  to  our  feelings  at  least : 
the  thermometer  at  ten  o'clock  stood  at  68^°,  which  gave  us 
hopes  that  the  country  would  be  cooler  than  we  should 
expect  from  the  accounts  of  travellers,  especially  M.  Biron, 
who  says  that  no  business  is  done  here  from  ten  to  two  on 
account  of  the  intense  heat. 

13th.  This  morning  the  harbour  of  Rio  Janeiro  was 
right  ahead,  about  two  leagues  off,  but  it  being  quite  calm 


NOV.  1768  OFF  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  25 

we  made  our  approach  very  slowly.  The  sea  was  incon- 
ceivably full  of  small  vermes,  which  we  took  without  the 
least  difficulty :  they  were  almost  all  new,  except  Beroe 
labiata,  Medusa  radiata,  fimbriata,  crystallina,  and  a  Dagysa. 
Soon  after  a  fishing -boat  came  aboard  and  sold  us  three 
scombers,  which  proved  to  be  new,  and  were  called  S. 
salmoneus.  His  bait  was  Clupea  chinensis,  of  which  we  also 
procured  specimens. 


CHAPTEE    II 

RIO  DE  JANEIRO 
Nov.  13— DEC.  7,  176$ 

Obstacles  to  landing — Viceroy  memorialised  —  Boat's  crew  imprisoned  — 
Vegetation,  etc. — Ship  fired  at — Leave  Rio  harbour — Description  of 
Rio — Churches — Government — Hindrances  to  travellers — Population — 
Military — Assassinations  — Vegetables — Fruits — Manufactures  —  Mines — 
Jewels — Coins — Fortifications — Climate. 

13th  November}  As  soon  as  we  were  well  in  the  river, 
the  captain  sent  his  first  lieutenant,  Mr.  Hicks,  with  a 
midshipman,  to  get  a  pilot :  the  boat  returned,  however, 
without  the  officers,  but  with  a  Portuguese  subaltern.  The 
coxswain  informed  us  that  the  lieutenant  was  detained  until 
the  captain  should  go  off.  A  ten-oared  boat,  containing 
about  a  dozen  soldiers,  then  came  off  and  rowed  round  the 
ship,  no  one  in  it  appearing  to  take  the  slightest  notice  of 
us.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  another  boat  came  off,  on 
board  which  was  a  Disembargador  and  a  colonel  of  a  Portu- 
guese regiment.  The  latter  asked  many  questions,  and  at 
first  seemed  to  discourage  our  stay,  but  ended  by  being 
extremely  civil,  and  assuring  us  that  the  Governor  would 
give  us  every  assistance  in  his  power.  The  lieutenant,  he 
said,  was  not  detained,  but  had  not  been  allowed  on  shore 
on  account  of  the  practica,  but  that  he  would  be  sent  on 
board  immediately. 

I4:th.  Captain  Cook  went  on  shore  this  morning.     He 
returned  with  a  Portuguese  officer  with  him  in  the  boat, 

1  This  account,  from  the  13th  to  the  24th  November  inclusive,  of  the 
treatment  of  Captain  Cook  at  Rio,  has  been  much  condensed  from  the 
original  "Journal." 


NOV.  1768  OBSTACLES  TO  LANDING  27 

also  an  Englishman,  Mr.  Forster,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Portu- 
guese service.  We  were  informed  that  we  could  not  have 
a  house  nor  sleep  on  shore,  and  that  no  person  except  the 
captain  and  such  common  sailors  as  were  required  on  duty 
would  be  permitted  to  land ;  we,  the  passengers,  were  par- 
ticularly objected  to.  In  spite  of  this  we  attempted  to  go 
on  shore  in  the  evening,  under  excuse  of  a  visit  to  the 
Viceroy,  but  were  stopped  by  the  guard-boat.  The  captain 
went  ashore  to  remonstrate  with  the  Viceroy,  but  the 
latter  said  that  he  was  acting  under  the  King  of  Portugal's 
orders. 

1 5th  and  16th.  The  captain  vainly  remonstrated  with 
the  Viceroy  against  our  being  forbidden  to  land,  and  par- 
ticularly against  the  sentinel  placed  in  his  boat,  which  was 
done,  he  was  told,  as  an  honour. 

17th.  The  captain  and  I  drew  up  written  memorials 
complaining  of  his  Excellency's  behaviour,  which  to  us,  as 
a  King's  ship,  was  almost  a  breach  of  duty. 

18th.  Answers  to  our  memorials  were  received:  the 
captain  is  told  that  he  had  no  reason  to  complain,  as  he 
had  only  received  the  usual  treatment  customary  in  all  the 
ports  of  Brazil ;  as  for  me,  I  am  informed  that  as  I  have 
not  brought  proper  credentials  from  the  court  at  Lisbon,  it 
is  impossible  that  I  can  be  permitted  to  land. 

19th.  We  sent  answers  to  his  Excellency's  memorials. 
The  lieutenant  who  took  them  had  orders  not  to  suffer  a 
guard  to  be  put  into  his  boat ;  the  guard-boat  let  him  pass, 
but  the  Viceroy,  on  hearing  of  it,  ordered  sentinels  to  be 
put  on  the  boat.  The  lieutenant  refused  to  go  on  board 
unless  they  were  taken  out,  whereupon  he  was  sent  on 
board  in  a  guard-boat  and  his  crew  arrested.  He  reported 
that  the  men  in  our  pinnace  had  not  made  the  least  resist- 
ance, but  that  they  had  notwithstanding  been  treated  very 
roughly,  being  struck  by  the  soldiers  several  times.  The 
guard  brought  back  the  letters  unopened. 

This  evening,  by  some  mismanagement,  our  long-boat 
broke  adrift,  carrying  with  her  my  small  boat.  The  yawl 
was  sent  after  her,  and  managed  to  take  her  in  tow,  but  in 


28  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  crew,  the  boats  soon  drifted 
out  of  sight.  The  yawl  came  back  at  two  in  the  morning 
with  the  news  that  the  other  two  boats  were  lost.  "We 
were,  however,  glad  to  find  the  men  safe,  for  they  had  been 
in  considerable  danger. 

20th.  The  yawl  was  sent  ashore  to  seek  assistance  in 
recovering  our  long-boat :  it  returned  with  our  pinnace  and 
its  crew,  and  a  boat  of  the  Viceroy,  which  had  orders  to 
assist  us  in  searching  for  our  boats. 

The  crew  of  the  pinnace  declared  that  they  had  been 
confined  in  a  loathsome  dungeon,  where  their  company  was 
chiefly  blacks  who  were  chained.  The  coxswain  purchased 
a  better  apartment  for  seven  petacks  (about  as  many 
English  shillings).  At  dark  the  pinnace  returned  with  both 
the  boats  and  all  their  contents. 

2 1st.  Letters  arrived  from  the  Viceroy;  in  mine  he  told 
me  very  politely  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  permit  me 
to  go  ashore.  In  the  captain's  he  raises  some  doubts  about 
our  ship  being  a  King's  ship.1 

23rd.  An  answer  to  the  captain's  last  memorial  accuses 
him  of  smuggling. 

24th.  Dr.  Solander  went  into  the  town  as  surgeon  of  the 
ship  to  visit  a  friar  who  had  desired  that  the  surgeon  might 
be  sent  to  him :  he  received  civilities  from  the  people. 

2Qth.  I  myself  went  ashore  this  morning  before  day- 
break, and  stayed  until  dark  night.  While  I  was  ashore  I 
met  several  of  the  inhabitants,  who  were  very  civil  to  me, 
taking  me  to  their  houses,  where  I  bought  of  them  stock  for 
the  ship  tolerably  cheap :  a  middlingly  fat  porker  for  eleven 
shillings,  a  Muscovy  duck  for  something  under  two  shil- 
lings, etc. 

The  country,  where  I  saw  it,  abounded  with  vast  variety 
of  plants  and  animals,  mostly  such  as  had  not  been  described 
by  our  naturalists,  as  so  few  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
coining  here ;  indeed,  no  one  even  tolerably  curious  that  I 

1  "The  build  and  general  appearance  of  the  Endeavour  not  being  that  of 
a  man-of-war,  the  Portuguese  authorities  entertained  suspicions  regarding  her 
true  character,  which  is  not  altogether  surprising,  considering  the  times. " — 
"VVharton's  Cook,  p.  22,  footnote. 


NOV.  1768  VEGETATION  NEAR  RIO  29 

know  of  has  been  here  since  Marcgrav  and  Piso  about 
1640  ;  so  it  is  easy  to  guess  the  state  in  which  the  natural 
history  of  such  a  country  must  be. 

To  give  a  catalogue  of  what  I  found  would  be  a  trouble 
very  little  to  the  purpose,  as  every  particular  is  mentioned 
in  the  general  catalogues  of  this  place.  I  cannot,  however, 
help  mentioning  some  which  struck  me  the  most,  and  con- 
sequently gave  me  particular  pleasure.  These  were  chiefly 
the  parasitic  plants,  especially  Eenealmice  (for  I  was  not 
fortunate  enough  to  see  one  Epidendrum)  and  the  different 
species  of  Bromelia,  many  not  before  described.  Karratas 
I  saw  here  growing  on  the  decayed  trunk  of  a  tree  sixty  feet 
high  at  least,  which  it  had  so  entirely  covered  that  the 
whole  seemed  to  be  a  tree  of  Karratas.  The  growth  of  the 
Rhizopliora  *  also  pleased  me  much,  although  I  had  before  a 
very  good  idea  of  it  from  Rumphius,  who  has  a  very  good 
figure  of  the  tree  in  his  Herb.  Amboin.  [v.  iii.  tab.  71,  72]. 
Add  to  these  that  the  whole  country  was  covered  with  the 
beautiful  blossoms  of  Malpighiw,  Bannisterice,  Passiflorce,  not 
forgetting  Poinciana  and  Mimosa  sensitiva,  and  a  beautiful 
species  of  Clusia,  of  which  I  saw  great  plenty ;  in  short,  the 
wildest  spots  here  were  varied  with  a  greater  quantity  of 
flowers,  as  well  as  more  beautiful  ones,  than  our  best- 
devised  gardens ;  a  sight  infinitely  pleasing  for  a  short 
time,  though  no  doubt  the  eye  would  soon  tire  with  a  con- 
tinuance of  it. 

The  birds  of  many  species,  especially  the  smaller  ones, 
sat  in  great  abundance  on  the  boughs,  many  of  them  covered 
with  most  elegant  plumage.  I  shot  Loxia,  Irasiliensis,  and 
saw  several  specimens  of  it.  Insects  also  were  here  in 
great  quantity,  many  species  very  fine,  but  much  more 
nimble  than  our  European  ones,  especially  the  butterflies, 
almost  all  which  flew  near  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  were 
very  difficult  to  come  at,  except  when  the  sea  breeze  blew 
fresh,  which  kept  them  low  down  among  the  trees  where 
they  might  be  taken.  Humming-birds  I  also  saw  of  one 
species,  but  could  not  shoot  them. 

1  Mangrove  tree. 


30  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

The  banks  of  the  sea,  and  more  remarkably  all  the  edges 
of  small  brooks,  were  covered  with  innumerable  quantities  of 
small  crabs  (Cancer  weans,  Linn.),  one  hand  of  which  is  very 
large.  Among  these  were  many  whose  two  hands  were 
remarkably  small  and  of  equal  size ;  these  my  black  servant 
told  me  were  the  females  of  the  other,  and  indeed  all  I 
examined,  which  were  many,  proved  to  be  females,  but 
whether  they  were  really  of  the  same  species  as  C.  weans, 
I  cannot  determine  on  so  short  an  acquaintance. 

I  saw  but  little  cultivation,  and  small  pains  seemed  to 
be  taken  with  that.  Most  of  it  was  grass  land,  on  which 
were  many  lean  cattle ;  and  lean  they  might  well  be,  for 
almost  all  the  species  of  grass  which  I  observed  here  were 
creepers,  and  consequently  so  close  to  the  ground  that 
though  there  might  be  upon  them  a  sufficient  bite  for 
horses  or  sheep,  yet  how  horned  cattle  could  live  at  all 
appeared  extraordinary  to  me. 

I  also  saw  their  gardens,  or  small  patches  in  which  they 
cultivate  many  sorts  of  European  garden  stuffs,  such  as 
cabbages,  peas,  beans,  kidney  beans,  turnips,  white  radishes, 
pumpkins,  etc.,  but  all  much  inferior  to  ours,  except  perhaps 
the  last.  They  also  grow  water-melons  and  pine-apples, 
the  only  fruits  which  I  have  seen  them  cultivate ;  the  first 
are  very  good,  but  the  pines  were  much  inferior  to  those  I 
have  tasted  in  Europe ;  I  have  hardly  had  one  which  could 
be  reckoned  of  average  quality,  many  were  worse  than  some 
I  have  seen  sent  away  from  table  in  England,  where  nobody 
would  eat  them.  Though  in  general  very  sweet,  they  have 
not  the  least  flavour.  In  these  gardens  grow  also  yams, 
and  mandihoca  or  cassada,  which  supplies  the  place  of  bread, 
for  as  our  European  bread  corn  will  not  grow  here,  all  the 
flour  they  have  is  brought  from  Portugal  at  great  expense, 
too  great  even  for  the  middle-class  people  to  purchase,  much 
less  the  poorer. 

27 'tli.  On  the  boats  returning  from  watering,  we  were 
told  that  men  had  been  sent  out  yesterday  in  search  of  some 
of  our  people  who  were  ashore  without  leave ;  we  concluded 
that  this  referred  either  to  Dr.  Solander  or  myself,  which 


DEC.  1768  LEAVE  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  3r 

made  it  necessary  for  us  to  go  no  more  ashore  while  we 
stayed. 

1st  December.  We  learnt  that  Mr.  Forster  had  been  taken 
into  custody,  charged  with  smuggling.  The  real  cause,  we 
believe,  was  that  he  had  shown  some  countenance  to  his 
countrymen,  as  we  heard  at  the  same  time  that  five  or  six 
Englishmen  residing  in  the  town,  and  a  poor  Portuguese, 
who  used  to  assist  our  people  in  bringing  things  to  the  boats, 
had  also  been  put  into  prison  without  any  reason  being 
given. 

2nd.  This  morning,  thank  God,  we  have  got  all  we 
want  from  these  illiterate,  impolite  gentry,  so  we  got  up 
our  anchor  and  sailed  to  the  point  of  Ilhoa  dos  Cobras, 
where  we  were  to  lie  and  wait  for  a  fair  wind,  which  should 
come  every  night  from  the  land.  A  Spanish  brig  from 
Buenos  Ayres  with  letters  for  Spain  arrived  about  a  week 
ago;  her  officers  were  received  ashore  with  all  possible 
civility,  and  allowed  to  take  a  house  without  the  least 
hesitation.  The  captain,  Don  Antonio  de  Monte  negro  y 
Velasco,  with  great  politeness  offered  to  take  our  letters  to 
Europe.  Of  this  very  fortunate  circumstance  we  availed 
ourselves,  and  sent  our  letters  on  board  this  morning. 

5 1 h.  We  attempted  to  tow  down  with  our  boats,  and 
came  nearly  abreast  of  Santa  Cruz,  their  chief  fortification, 
when  to  our  great  surprise  the  fort  fired  two  shots  at  us, 
one  of  which  went  just  over  our  mast;  we  immediately 
brought  to,  and  sent  ashore  to  inquire  the  reason ;  we  were 
told  that  no  order  had  come  down  to  allow  us  to  pass,  and 
that  without  such  no  ship  was  ever  suffered  to  go  below  that 
fort.  We  were  now  obliged  to  send  to  town  to  know  the 
reason  of  such  extraordinary  behaviour;  the  answer  came 
back  about  eleven  that  it  was  a  mistake,  for  the  brigadier 
had  forgotten  to  send  the  letter,  which  had  been  written 
some  days  ago.  It  was,  however,  sent  by  the  boat,  and  we 
had  leave  to  proceed.  We  now  began  to  weigh  our  anchor, 
which  had  been  dropped  in  foul  ground,  when  we  were  fired 
upon,  but  it  was  so  fast  in  a  rock  that  it  could  not  be  got 
up  while  the  land  breeze  blew,  which  to-day  continued 


32  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

almost  till  four  in  the  evening.  As  soon  as  the  sea  breeze 
came  we  filled  our  sails,  and  carrying  the  ship  over  the 
anchor,  tripped  it,  but  were  obliged  to  sail  back  almost  as 
far  as  we  had  towed  the  ship  in  the  morning. 

This  day  and  yesterday  the  air  was  crowded  in  an 
uncommon  manner  with  butterflies,  chiefly  of  one  sort,  of 
which  we  took  as  many  as  we  pleased  on  board  the  ship ; 
their  quantity  was  so  large  that  at  some  times  I  may  say 
many  thousands  were  in  view  at  once  in  almost  any  direc- 
tion you  could  look,  the  greater  part  of  them  far  above  our 
mast-heads. 

6th.  No  land  breeze  to-day,  so  we^are  confined  in  our 
disagreeable  situation  without  a  possibility  of  moving ; 
many  curses  were  this  day  expended  on  his  Excellency. 

ith.  Weighed  and  stood  out  to  sea.  As  soon  as  we 
came  to  Santa  Cruz  the  pilot  desired  to  be  discharged,  and 
with  him  our  enemy  the  guard-boat  went  off,  so  we  were 
left  our  own  masters,  and  immediately  resolved  to  go  ashore 
on  one  of  the  islands  in  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  There 
was  a  great  swell,  but  we  made  shift  to  land  on  one  called 
Kaza,  on  which  we  gathered  many  species  of  plants  and 
some  insects.  Alstromeria  Salsilla  was  here  in  tolerable 
plenty,  and  Amaryllis  mexicana.  We  stayed  until  about 
four  o'clock,  and  then  came  aboard  the  ship  heartily  tired,  for 
the  desire  of  doing  as  much  as  we  could  in  a  short  time  had 
made  us  all  exert  ourselves,  though  exposed  to  the  hottest 
rays  of  the  sun  just  at  noon-day. 

Now  we  are  got  fairly  to  sea,  and  have  entirely  got  rid 
of  these  troublesome  people,  I  cannot  help  spending  some 
time  in  describing  them,  though  I  was  not  myself  once  in 
their  town ;  yet  my  intelligence  coming  from  Dr.  Solander, 
and  Mr.  Monkhouse,  our  surgeon,  a  very  sensible  man,  who 
was  ashore  every  day  to  buy  our  provisions,  I  think  cannot 
err  much  from  truth. 

The  town  of  Eio  Janeiro,  the  capital  of  the  Portuguese 
dominions  in  America,  is  situate  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
of  that  name,  and  both  are  so  called,  I  apprehend,  from  the 
Eoman  Saint  Januarius,  according  to  the  Spanish  and 


DEC.  1768  RIO  DE  JANEIRO 


33 


Portuguese  custom  of  naming  their  discoveries   from  the 
saint  on  whose  feast  they  are  made. 

It  is  regular  and  well  built  after  the  fashion  of  Portugal, 
every  house  having  before  its  window  a  lattice  of  wood, 
behind  which  is  a  little  balcony.  In  size  it  is  much  larger 
than  I  could  have  expected,  probably  little  inferior  to  any  of 
our  country  towns  in  England,  Bristol  or  Liverpool  not 
excepted.  The  streets  are  all  straight,  intersecting  each 
other  at  right  angles,  and  have  this  peculiar  convenience 
that  the  greater  number  lie  in  one  direction,  and  are 
commanded  by  the  guns  of  their  citadel,  called  St. 
Sebastian,  which  is  situate  on  the  top  of  a  hill  overlooking 
the  town. 

It  is  supplied  with  water  from  the  neighbouring  hills  by 
an  aqueduct  upon  two  stories  of  arches,  said  in  some  places 
to  be  very  high ;  the  water  is  conveyed  into  a  fountain  in 
the  great  square  immediately  opposite  the  governor's  palace. 
This  is  guarded  by  a  sentry,  who  has  sufficient  work  to  keep 
regularity  and  order  among  so  many  as  are  always  in  wait- 
ing here.  "Water  is  laid  on  in  some  other  part  of  the  town, 
but  how  it  is  brought  there  I  could  not  hear ;  the  water 
there  is  said  to  be  better  than  the  fountain,  which  is 
exceedingly  indifferent,  so  much  so  as  not  to  be  liked  by  us, 
though  we  had  been  two  months  at  sea,  in  which  time  our 
water  was  almost  continually  bad. 

The  churches  are  very  fine,  with  more  ornaments  even 
than  those  in  Europe,  and  all  the  ceremonies  of  their 
religion  are  carried  on  with  more  show ;  their  processions 
in  particular  are  very  extraordinary.  Every  day  one  or 
other  of  the  parishes  has  a  solemn  procession  with  all  the 
insignia  of  its  church,  altar,  and  host,  etc.,  through  the 
parish,  begging  for  whatever  can  be  got,  and  praying  in  all 
forms  at  every  corner  of  a  street.  While  we  were  there 
one  of  the  largest  churches  in  the  town  was  being  rebuilt, 
and  for  that  reason  the  parish  had  leave  to  walk  through 
the  whole  city,  which  was  done  once  a  week,  and  much 
money  collected  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  edifice.  At  this 
ceremony  all  boys  under  a  certain  age  were  obliged  to 


34  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

attend,  nor  were  gentlemen's  sons  ever  excused ;  each  of 
these  was  dressed  in  a  black  cassock  with  a  short  red 
cloak  reaching  half-way  down  the  shoulders,  and  carried  in 
his  hand  a  lantern  hung  on  the  end  of  a  pole  about  six  or 
seven  feet  long.  The  light  caused  by  this  (for  there  were 
always  at  least  200  lanterns)  is  greater  than  can  be  imagined ; 
I  myself,  who  saw  it  out  of  the  cabin  windows,  called  my 
messmates,  imagining  that  the  town  was  on  fire. 

Besides  this  travelling  religion,  any  one  walking  through 
the  streets  has  opportunity  enough  to  show  his  attachment 
to  any  saint  in  the  calendar,  for  every  corner  and  almost 
every  house  has  before  it  a  little  cupboard  in  which  some 
saint  or  other  keeps  his  residence ;  and  lest  he  should  not 
see  his  votaries  in  the  night,  he  is  furnished  with  a  small 
lamp  which  hangs  before  his  little  glass  window.  To  these 
it  is  very  customary  to  pray  and  sing  hymns  with  all  the 
vociferation  imaginable,  as  may  be  imagined  when  I  say 
that  I  and  every  one  in  the  ship  heard  it  very  distinctly 
every  night,  though  we  lay  at  least  half  a  mile  from  the 
town. 

The  government  of  this  place  seems  to  me  to  be  much 
more  despotic  even  than  that  of  Portugal,  although  many 
precautions  have  been  taken  to  render  it  otherwise.  The 
chief  magistrates  are  the  Viceroy,  the  Governor  of  the  town, 
and  a  Council,  whose  number  I  could  not  learn,  but  only 
that  the  viceroy  had  in  this  the  casting  vote.  Without  the 
consent  of  this  council  nothing  material  should  be  done,  yet 
every  day  shows  that  the  viceroy  and  governor  at  least,  if 
not  all  the  rest,  do  the  most  unjust  things  without  consult- 
ing any  one ;  putting  a  man  into  prison  without  giving  him 
a  hearing,  and  keeping  him  there  till  he  is  glad  at  any  rate 
to  get  out,  without  asking  why  he  was  put  in,  or  at  best, 
sending  him  to  Lisbon  to  be  tried  there  without  letting  his 
family  here  know  where  he  is  gone,  as  is  very  common. 
This  we  experienced  while  here,  for  every  one  who  had 
interpreted  for  our  people,  or  who  had  only  assisted  in  buy- 
ing provisions  for  them,  was  put  into  jail,  merely,  I  suppose, 
to  show  us  their  power.  I  should,  however,  except  from 


DEC.  1768  POPULATION  35 

this  one  John  Burrith,  an  officer  in  their  customs,  a  man 
who  has  been  here  thirteen  years,  and  has  become  so  com- 
pletely Portuguese  that  he  is  known  by  no  other  name 
than  Don  John ;  he  was  of  service  to  our  people,  though 
what  he  did  was  so  clogged  with  a  suspicious  fear  of  offend- 
ing the  Portuguese  as  rendered  it  disgustful.  It  is  necessary 
for  any  one  who  should  come  here  to  know  his  character, 
which  is  mercenary,  though  contented  with  a  little,  as  the 
present  given  to  him  demonstrated;  it  consisted  of  one 
dozen  of  beer,  ten  gallons  of  brandy,  ten  pieces  of  ship's 
beef,  and  as  many  of  pork.  This  was  what  he  himself 
asked  for,  and  sent  on  board  the  keg  for  the  spirit,  and 
with  this  he  was  more  than  satisfied. 

They  have  a  very  extraordinary  method  of  keeping 
people  from  travelling;  to  hinder  them,  I  suppose,  from 
going  into  any  district  where  gold  or  diamonds  may  be 
found,  as  there  are  more  of  such  districts  than  they  can 
possibly  guard.  There  are  certain  bounds  beyond  which 
no  man  must  go ;  these  vary  every  month  at  the  discretion 
of  the  viceroy,  sometimes  they  are  few,  sometimes  many 
leagues  from  the  city.  Every  man  must  in  consequence  of 
this  come  to  town  to  know  where  the  bounds  are,  for  if  he 
is  taken  by  the  guards,  who  constantly  patrol  on  their 
limits,  he  is  infallibly  put  in  prison,  even  if  he  is  within 
them,  unless  he  can  tell  where  they  are. 

The  inhabitants  are  very  numerous ;  they  consist  of 
Portuguese,  negroes,  and  Indians,  aborigines  of  the  country. 
The  township  of  Eio,  whose  extent  I  could  not  learn,  but 
was  only  told  that  it  was  but  a  small  part  of  the  capitanea, 
or  province,  is  said  to  contain  about  37,000  whites,  and 
about  17  negroes  to  each  white,  which  makes  their  number 
629,000,  and  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  all  666,000. 
As  for  the  Indians,  they  do  not  live  in  this  neighbourhood, 
though  many  of  them  are  always  here  doing  the  king's 
work,  which  they  are  obliged  to  do  by  turns,  for  small  pay, 
and  for  which  purpose  they  came  from  their  habitations  at 
a  distance.  I  saw  many  of  them,  as  our  guard-boat  was 
constantly  rowed  by  them  ;  they  are  of  a  light  copper  colour, 


36  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

with  long,  lank,  black  hair.  As  to  their  policy,  or  manner 
of  living  when  at  home,  I  could  not  learn  anything. 

The  military  here  consist  of  twelve  regiments  of 
regulars,  six  Portuguese  and  six  Creoles,  and  as  many  of 
provincial  militia,  who  may  be  assembled  upon  occasion. 
To  the  regulars  the  inhabitants  show  great  deference,  for  as 
Mr.  Forster  told  me,  if  any  of  the  people  did  not  pull  off 
their  hats  when  they  meet  an  officer,  he  would  immediately 
knock  them  down,  which  custom  renders  the  people  remark- 
ably civil  to  strangers  who  have  at  all  a  gentlemanlike 
appearance.  All  the  officers  of  these  regiments  are  expected 
to  attend  three  times  a  day  at  "  Sala "  or  the  viceroy's 
levee,  where  they  formally  ask  for  commands,  and  are 
constantly  answered  "  there  is  nothing  new."  This  policy 
is  intended,  as  I  have  been  told,  to  prevent  them  from  going 
into  the  country,  which  it  most  effectually  does. 

Assassinations  are,  I  fancy,  more  frequent  here  than  in 
Lisbon,  as  the  churches  still  take  upon  themselves  to  give 
protection  to  criminals.  One  accident  of  the  kind  happened 
in  the  sight  of  S.  Evans,  our  coxswain,  a  man  whom  I  can 
depend  upon.  He  saw  two  people  talking  together,  to  all 
appearance  in  a  friendly  manner,  when  one  suddenly  drew 
a  knife,  stabbed  the  other  twice,  and  ran  away  pursued  by 
some  negroes  who  likewise  saw  the  act.  What  the  further 
event  of  this  was  I  could  not  learn. 

Of  the  country  I  know  rather  more  than  of  the  town,  as 
I  was  ashore  one  whole  day.  In  that  time  I  saw  much 
cleared  ground,  but  chiefly  of  an  indifferent  quality,  though 
doubtless  there  is  much  that  is  very  good,  as  the  sugar  and 
tobacco  which  is  sent  to  Europe  from  hence  plainly  testify ; 
but  all  that  I  saw  was  employed  in  breeding  cattle,  of  which 
they  have  great  plenty,  though  their  pastures  are  the  worst 
I  ever  saw  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  grass.  Con- 
sequently the  beef  sold  in  the  market,  though  tolerably 
cheap,  is  so  lean  that  an  Englishman  can  hardly  eat  it.  I 
likewise  saw  great  plantations  of  Jatropha  Manihot,  which  is 
called  in  the  West  Indies  Cassada,  and  here  Farinha  de  Pao 
or  wooden  meal,  a  very  proper  name,  for  the  cakes  they  make 


DEC.  1768  BRAZILIAN  FRUITS  37 

with  it  taste  as  if  they  were  made  of  sawdust.  Yet  it  is 
the  only  bread  which  is  eaten  here,  for  European  bread  is 
sold  at  nearly  the  rate  of  a  shilling  a  pound,  and  is  exceed- 
ingly bad  on  account  of  the  flour,  which  is  generally  heated 
in  its  passage  from  Europe. 

The  country  produces  many  more  articles,  but  as  I  did  not 
see  them  or  hear  them  mentioned,  I  shall  not  set  them  down, 
though  doubtless  it  is  capable  of  producing  anything  that 
our  West  Indian  islands  do  ;  notwithstanding  this  they  have 
neither  coffee  nor  chocolate,  but  import  both  from  Lisbon. 

Their  fruits,  however,  I  must  not  pass  over  in  silence. 
Those  that  were  in  season  during  our  stay  were  pine-apples, 
melons,  water-melons,  oranges,  limes,  lemons,  sweet  lemons, 
citrons,  plantains,  bananas,  mangos,  mamme-apples,  acajou- 
apples  and  nuts,  Jambosa,1  another  sort  which  bears  a  small 
black  fruit,  cocoanuts,  palm  nuts  of  two  kinds,  palm  berries. 
Of  these  I  must  separately  give  my  opinion,  as  no  doubt  it 
will  seem  strange  to  some  that  I  should  assert  that  I  have 
eaten  many  of  them,  and  especially  pine-apples,  better  in 
England  than  any  I  have  met  with  here.  I  begin,  then, 
with  the  pines,  as  the  fruit  from  which  I  expected  the  most, 
they  being,  I  believe,  natives  of  this  country,  though  I  can- 
not say  I  have  seen  or  even  heard  of  their  being  at  this 
time  wild  anywhere  in  this  neighbourhood.  They  are 
cultivated  much  as  we  do  cabbages  in  Europe,  or  rather  with 
less  care,  the  plants  being  set  between  beds  of  any  kind  of 
garden  stuff,  and  suffered  to  take  their  chance :  the  price  of 
them  in  the  market  is  seldom  above,  and  generally  under  a 
vintain,  which  is  three  halfpence. 

All  that  Dr.  Solander  and  myself  tasted  we  agreed  were 
much  inferior  to  those  we  had  eaten  in  England,  though  in 
general  they  were  more  juicy  and  sweet,  yet  they  had  no 
flavour,  but  were  like  sugar  melted  in  water.  Their  melons 
are  still  worse,  to  judge  from  the  single  specimen  we  had, 
which  was  perfectly  mealy  and  insipid ;  their  water-melons, 
however,  are  very  good,  for  they  have  some  little  flavour  or 
at  least  a  degree  of  acid,  which  ours  have  not.  Oranges  are 

1  Eugenia  jambos,  Linn. 


38  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

large  and  very  juicy ;  we  thought  them  good,  doubtless  better 
than  any  we  had  tasted  at  home,  but  probably  Italy  and 
Portugal  produce  as  good,  had  we  been  there  in  the  time  of 
their  being  in  perfection.  Lemons  and  limes  are  like  ours ; 
sweet  lemons  are  sweetish  and  without  flavour.  Citrons 
have  a  faint  sickly  taste,  otherwise  we  liked  them.  Mangoes 
were  not  in  perfection,  but  promised  to  be  a  very  fine  fruit ; 
they  are  about  the  size  of  a  peach,  full  of  a  yellow  melting 
pulp,  not  unlike  that  of  a  summer  peach,  with  a  very  grateful 
flavour;  but  the  one  we  had  was  spoilt  by  a  taste  of  turpentine, 
which  I  am  told  does  not  occur  in  the  ripe  fruit.  Bananas 
are  in  shape  and  size  like  a  small  thick  sausage,  covered 
with  a  thick  yellow  rind,  which  is  peeled  off,  and  the  fruit 
within  is  of  a  consistence  which  might  be  expected  of  a 
mixture  of  butter  and  flour,  but  a  little  slimy ;  its  taste  is 
sweet  with  a  little  perfume.  Acajou  or  casshew  is  shaped 
like  an  apple,  but  larger ;  the  taste  is  very  disagreeable, 
sourish  and  bitter :  the  nut  grows  at  the  top  of  it.  Plan- 
tains differ  [from  bananas]  in  being  longer  and  thinner  and 
less  luscious  in  taste.  Both  these  fruits  were  disagreeable 
to  most  of  our  people,  but  after  some  use  I  became  tolerably 
fond  of  them.  Mamme-apples  are  bigger  than  an  English 
codlin,  and  are  covered  with  a  deep  yellow  skin :  the  pulp 
is  very  insipid,  or  rather  disagreeable,  and  full  of  small 
round  seeds  covered  with  a  thick  mucilage,  which  continually 
clogs  the  mouth.  Jambosa,  is  the  same  as  I  saw  at 
Madeira,  a  fruit  calculated  more  to  please  the  smell  than 
the  taste ;  the  other  kind  is  small  and  black,  and  resembles 
much  our  English  bilberries  in  taste.  Cocoanuts  are  so 
well  known  in  England  that  I  need  only  say  I  have  tasted 
as  good  there  as  any  I  met  with  here.  Palm  nuts  are  of 
two  sorts,  one  long  and  shaped  like  dates,  the  other  round ; 
both  are  roasted  before  their  kernels  are  eatable,  and  even 
then  they  are  not  so  good  as  cocoanuts.  Palm  berries 
appear  much  like  black  grapes  ;  they  are  the  fruit  of  Bactris 
minor,  but  have  scarcely  any  pulp  covering  a  very  large  stone, 
and  what  there  is  has  nothing  but  a  light  acid  to  recommend 
it.  There  are  also  the  fruits  of  several  species  of  prickly 


DEC.  1768  GOLD  AND  GEMS  39 

pear,  which  are  very  insipid,  and  one  peach  also  proved 
very  bad. 

Though  this  country  should  produce  many  and  very 
valuable  drugs,  we  could  not  find  any  in  the  apothecary's 
shops  except  Pareira  Brava  and  Balsam  Capivi,  both  of 
which  we  bought  at  excessively  cheap  prices,  and  very  good 
of  the  sort.  I  fancy  the  drug  trade  is  chiefly  carried  on  to 
the  northward,  as  is  that  of  dyeing  woods  ;  at  least  we  could 
hear  nothing  of  them  here. 

For  manufactures,  I  know  of  none  carried  on  here 
except  that  of  cotton  hammocks,  which  are  used  by  the 
people  to  be  carried  about  in,  as  we  do  sedan-chairs. 
These  hammocks  are  made  chiefly  by  the  Indians.  But 
the  chief  riches  of  the  country  come  from  the  mines,  which 
are  situated  far  up  the  country ;  indeed,  no  one  could  tell  me 
how  far,  for  even  the  situation  of  them  is  concealed  as 
carefully  as  possible,  and  troops  are  continually  employed 
in  guarding  the  roads  that  lead  to  them ;  so  that  it  is 
next  to  impossible  for  any  one  to  get  a  sight  of  them, 
except  those  who  are  employed  there.  No  one  at  least 
would  attempt  it  from  mere  curiosity,  for  everybody  who  is 
found  on  the  road  without  being  able  to  give  a  good  account 
of  himself  is  hanged  immediately.  From  these  mines  a 
great  quantity  of  gold  undoubtedly  conies,  but  it  is  purchased 
at  a  vast  cost  of  lives;  40,000  negroes  are  annually  im- 
ported on  the  king's  account  for  this  purpose,  and  notwith- 
standing this  the  year  before  last  they  died  so  fast  that 
20,000  more  were  obliged  to  be  drafted  from  the  town  of 
Eio. 

Precious  stones  are  also  found  here  in  very  large 
quantities,  so  large  that  they  do  not  allow  more  than  a 
certain  quantity  to  be  collected  in  a  year.  A  troop  of 
people  is  sent  into  the  country  where  they  are  found,  and 
ordered  to  return  when  they  have  collected  a  certain 
quantity,  which  they  sometimes  do  in  a  month,  more  or  less ; 
they  then  return,  and  after  that  it  is  death  for  any  one  to 
be  found  in  the  country  on  any  pretence  whatever  until  the 
following  year.  Diamonds,  topazes  of  several  different 


40  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

qualities,  and  amethysts,  are  the  stones  most  usually  found. 
Of  the  first  I  did  not  see  any,  but  was  told  that  the  viceroy 
had  by  him  large  quantities,  and  would  sell  them  on  the 
King  of  Portugal's  account,  but  in  that  case  they  would  not 
be  at  all  cheaper  than  those  in  Europe.  I  bought  a  few 
topazes  and  amethysts  as  specimens ;  the  former  were 
divided  into  three  sorts  of  very  different  value,  called  here 
pinga,  d'agua  qualidade  premeiro  and  segondo,  and  chrystallos 
ormerillos.  They  were  sold,  large  and  small,  good  and  bad 
together,  by  octaves,  or  the  eighth  part  of  an  ounce :  the 
first  sort  4s.  9d.,  the  second  2s.  4d.,  the  third  3d. ;  but 
it  was  smuggling  in  the  highest  degree  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  them. 

Formerly  there  were  jewellers  here  who  cut  stones,  but 
about  fourteen  months  ago  orders  came  from  the  King  of 
Portugal  that  no  more  stones  should  be  wrought  here 
except  on  his  account.  The  jewellers  were  immediately 
ordered  to  bring  all  their  tools  to  the  viceroy,  and  from  that 
time  to  this  have  not  been  suffered  to  do  anything  for  their 
support;  there  are,  however,  a  number  of  slaves  who  cut 
stones  for  the  King  of  Portugal. 

The  coin  current  here  is  either  that  of  Portugal,  especially 
thirty-six  shilling  pieces,  or  coin  made  here,  which  is  much 
debased,  particularly  the  silver.  These  are  called  petacks,  of 
which  there  are  two  sorts,  one  of  less  value  than  the  other, 
easily  distinguishable  by  the  number  of  reis  marked  on 
them,  but  they  are  little  used.  They  also  have  copper  coins 
like  those  in  Portugal  of  five  and  ten  rey  pieces.  Two  of 
the  latter  are  worth  three  halfpence;  forty  petacks  are  worth 
thirty-six  shillings. 

The  harbour  of  Eio  de  Janeiro  is  certainly  a  very  good 
one :  the  entrance  is  not  wide,  but  the  sea  breeze  which 
blows  every  morning  makes  it  easy  for  any  ship  to  go  in 
before  the  wind,  and  when  you  get  abreast  of  the  town  it 
increases  in  breadth  prodigiously,  so  that  almost  any  number 
of  ships  might  lie  in  five  or  six  fathoms  of  water  with  an 
oozy  bottom.  It  is  defended  by  many  works,  especially  the 
entrance,  where  it  is  narrow,  and  where  is  their  strongest 


DEC.  1768  FORTIFICATIONS  4I 

fortification,  Santa  Cruz,  and  another  opposite  it.  There  is 
also  a  platform  mounting  about  twenty-two  guns,  just  under 
the  Sugar-loaf  on  the  seaside,  but  it  seems  entirely  calculated 
to  hinder  the  landing  of  an  enemy  in  a  sandy  bay,  from  whence 
there  is  a  passage  to  the  back  part  of  the  town,  which  is 
entirely  undefended,  except  that  the  whole  town  is  open  to 
the  guns  of  the  citadel,  St.  Sebastian,  as  I  said  before. 
Between  Santa  Cruz  and  the  town  are  several  small  batteries 
of  five  or  ten  guns,  and  one  fairly  large  one  called  Berga  Leon. 
Immediately  before  the  town  is  the  Ilhoa  dos  Cobras,  an 
island  fortified  all  round,  which  seems  incapable  of  doing 
much  mischief  owing  to  its  immense  size ;  at  least  it  would 
take  more  men  to  defend  it,  even  tolerably,  in  case  of  an 
attack,  than  could  possibly  be  spared  from  a  town  totally 
without  lines  or  any  defence  round  it.  Santa  Cruz,  their 
chief  fortification,  on  which  they  most  rely,  seems  quite 
incapable  of  making  any  great  resistance  if  smartly  attacked 
by  shipping.  It  is  a  stone  fort,  mounting  many  guns 
indeed,  but  they  lie  tier  above  tier,  and  are  consequently 
very  open  to  the  attack  of  a  ship  which  may  come  within 
two  cable  lengths  or  less ;  besides,  they  have  no  supply  of 
water  but  what  they  obtain  from  a  cistern,  in  which  they 
catch  the  rain,  or,  in  times  of  drought,  which  they  supply 
from  the  adjacent  country.  This  cistern  they  have  been 
obliged  to  build  above  ground,  lest  the  water  should  become 
tainted  by  the  heat  of  the  climate,  which  a  free  access  of  air 
prevents ;  consequently  should  a  fortunate  shot  break  the 
cistern,  the  defenders  would  be  reduced  to  the  utmost  necessity. 
I  was  told  by  a  person  who  certainly  knew,  and  I 
believe  meant  to  inform  me  rightly,  that  a  little  to  the 
southward,  just  without  the  south  head  of  the  harbour,  was 
a  bay  in  which  boats  might  land  with  all  facility  without 
obstruction,  as  there  is  no  kind  of  work  there,  and  that  from 
this  bay  it  is  not  above  three  hours'  march  to  the  town, 
which  is  approached  from  the  back,  where  it  is  as  defence- 
less as  the  landing-place ;  but  this  seems  incredible.  Yet 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  of  these  people,  whose  chief 
policy  consists  in  hindering  people  as  much  as  possible  from 


42  RIO  DE  JANEIRO  CHAP,  n 

looking  about  them.  It  may  therefore  be,  as  my  informer 
said,  that  the  existence  of  such  a  bay  has  been  but  lately 
discovered ;  indeed,  were  it  not  for  that  policy,  I  could 
believe  anything  of  their  stupidity  and  ignorance.  As  an 
example  of  this,  the  governor  of  the  town,  Brigadier-General 
Don  Pedro  de  Mendozay  Furtado,  asked  the  captain  of  our 
ship  whether  the  transit  of  Venus,  which  we  were  going  to 
observe,  were  not  the  passing  of  the  North  Star  to  the 
South  Pole,  as  he  said  he  had  always  understood  it  to  be. 

The  river,  and  indeed  the  whole  coast,  abounds  with 
greater  variety  of  fish  than  I  have  ever  seen ;  seldom  a  day 
passed  in  which  we  had  not  one  or  more  new  species 
brought  to  us.  Indeed  the  bay  is  the  most  convenient  place 
for  fishing  I  have  ever  seen,  for  it  abounds  with  islands 
between  which  there  is  shallow  water  and  proper  beaches 
for  drawing  the  seine.  The  sea  also  without  the  bay  is  full 
of  dolphins,  and  large  mackerel  of  several  sorts,  who  very 
readily  bite  at  the  hooks  which  the  inhabitants  tow  after 
their  boats  for  that  purpose.  In  short,  the  country  is 
capable,  with  very  little  industry,  of  producing  infinite 
plenty,  both  of  necessaries  and  luxuries :  were  it  in  the 
hands  of  Englishmen  we  should  soon  see  its  consequence,  as 
things  are  tolerably  plentiful  even  under  the  direction  of  the 
Portuguese,  whom  I  take  to  be,  without  exception,  the  laziest 
as  well  as  the  most  ignorant  race  in  the  whole  world. 

The  climate  here  is,  I  fancy,  very  good.  During  our 
whole  stay  the  thermometer  was  never  above  83°,  but  we 
had  a  good  deal  of  rain,  and  once  it  blew  very  hard.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  this  country  has  rather  more  rain 
than  those  in  the  same  northern  latitude  are  observed  to 
have,  not  only  from  what  happened  during  our  short  stay, 
but  from  Marcgrav,  who  gives  us  meteorological  observations 
on  this  climate  for  three  years.  It  appears  that  it  rained 
here  in  those  years  almost  every  other  day  throughout  the 
year,  but  more  especially  in  May  and  June,  when  it  rained 
almost  without  ceasing.1 

1  Here  follows,  in  the  manuscript,  a  list  of  316  plants  collected  by  Banks 
near  Rio  de  Janeiro. 


CHAPTEE  III 

RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO 
DEC.  8,  1768— JAN.  30,  1769 

Birds  —  Christmas  —  Insects  floating  at  sea  —  "Baye  sans  fond"  —  Cancer 
gregarius — Fucus  giganteus— Penguins — Terra  del  Fuego— Staten  Island 
—Vegetation — Winter's  bark,  celery — Fuegians— Excursion  inland— 
Great  cold  and  snow-storm — Sufferings  of  the  party— Death  of  two  men 
from  cold — Return  to  ship — Shells — Native  huts — General  appearance 
of  the  country — Animals — Plants — Scurvy  grass,  celery — Inhabitants 
and  customs — Language — Food — Arms — Probable  nomadic  habits — Dogs 
— Climate. 

8th  December.  Soon  after  daybreak  a  shark  appeared,  which 
took  the  bait  very  readily.  While  we  were  playing  him  under 
the  cabin  window  he  cast  something  out  of  his  mouth  which 
either  was,  or  appeared  very  like,  his  stomach ;  this  it  threw  out 
and  drew  in  again  many  times.  I  have  often  heard  from  seamen 
that  they  can  do  it,  but  never  before  saw  anything  like  it. 

llth.  This  morning  we  took  a  shark,  which  cast  up  its 
stomach  when  hooked,  or  at  least  appeared  to  do  so.  It 
proved  to  be  a  female,  and  on  being  opened  six  young  ones 
were  taken  out  of  her,  five  of  which  were  alive,  and  swam 
briskly  in  a  tub  of  water.  The  sixth  was  dead,  and  seemed 
to  have  been  so  for  some  time. 

13th.  At  night  a  squall,  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
which  made  us  hoist  the  lightning  chain. 

22nd.  Shot  one  species  of  Mother  Carey's  chickens  and 
two  shearwaters ;  both  proved  new,  Procellaria  gigantea  and 
sandalecta.  The  Carey  was  one  but  ill-described  by  Linnaeus, 
Procellaria  fregat a.  While  we  were  shooting,  the  people  were 
employed  in  bending  the  new  set  of  sails  for  Cape  Horn. 


44  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

23rd.  Killed  another  new  Procellaria  (cequorea)  and 
many  of  the  sorts  we  had  seen  yesterday.  Caught  HolotJiuria 
angustata,  and  a  species  of  floating  Helix,  much  smaller  than 
those  under  the  line,  and  a  very  small  Phyllodoce  vdella,  some- 
times not  so  large  as  a  silver  penny,  yet  I  believe  it  was  the 
common  species.  In  the  evening  I  went  out  again,  and 
killed  an  albatross,  Diomedea  exulans,  measuring  nine  feet  one 
inch  between  the  tips  of  his  wings,  and  struck  one  turtle 
(Testudo  caretta). 

25th.  Christmas  Day  :  all  good  Christians,  that  is  to  say, 
all  good  hands,  got  abominably  drunk,  so  that  all  through 
the  night  there  was  scarce  a  sober  man  in  the  ship.  Weather, 
thank  God,  very  moderate,  or  the  Lord  knows  what  would 
have  become  of  us. 

2*7 th.  The  water  has  been  discoloured  all  day,  the  depth 
being  fifty  fathoms.  All  this  day  I  have  noticed  a  singular 
smell  from  windward,  though  the  people  in  the  ship  did  not 
take  notice  of  it ;  it  was  like  rotten  seaweed,  and  at  times 
very  strong. 

During  the  whole  of  the  gale  which  was  blowing  to-day 
we  had  many  Procdlarice  about  the  ship — at  some  times 
immense  numbers.  They  seemed  perfectly  unconcerned  at 
the  weather,  or  the  height  of  the  sea,  but  continued,  often 
flapping,  near  the  surface  of  the  water  as  if  fishing. 

29th.  We  observed  now  some  feathers  and  pieces  of  reed 
floating  by  the  ship,  which  made  us  get  up  the  hoave-net  to 
see  what  they  were.  Soon  after  some  drowned  Carabi  and 
Phalccnce  came  past,  which  we  took,  as  well  as  many  other 
specimens,  by  means  of  the  hoave.  A  large  Sphinx  was  also 
taken  (lat.  41°  48'). 

30th.  Water  very  white,  almost  of  a  clay  colour  :  sounded 
forty-seven  fathoms.  Plenty  of  insects  passed  by  this  morning, 
many  especially  of  the  Carabi,  alive,  some  Grrylli,  and  one 
Phalcena.  I  stayed  in  the  main  chains  from  eight  till  twelve, 
dipping  for  them  with  the  hoave,  and  took  vast  numbers. 
In  the  evening  many  Phalcence  and  two  Papiliones  came  flying 
about  the  ship  :  of  the  first  we  took  about  twenty,  but  the  last 
would  not  come  near  enough,  and  at  last  flew  away ;  they 


JAN.  1769  OCEANIC  LIFE  45 

appeared  large.  Both  yesterday  and  to-day  we  also  took 
several  ichneumons  flying  about  the  rigging.  All  the  sea- 
men say  that  we  cannot  be  less  than  twenty  leagues  from  the 
land,  but  I  doubt  Grylli,  especially,  coming  so  far  alive,  as 
they  must  float  all  the  way  upon  the  water.  The  sailors 
ground  their  opinion  chiefly  on  the  soundings,  the  bottom 
being  continuously  of  sand  of  different  colours,  which,  had 
we  been  nearer  the  land,  would  have  been  intermixed  with 
shells.  Their  experience  of  this  coast  must,  however,  be 
slight. 

Lat.  42°  3 1/.  A  sea-lion  was  entered  in  the  log-book  as 
being  seen  to-day,  but  I  did  not  see  it.  I  saw,  however,  a 
whale,  covered  with  barnacles  as  the  seamen  told  me.  It 
appeared  of  a  reddish  colour,  except  the  tail,  which  was 
black  like  those  to  the  northward. 

3 1st.  No  insects  seen  to-day ;  the  water  changed  to  a 
little  better  colour.  On  looking  over  the  insects  taken 
yesterday  I  find  thirty-one  land  species,  all  so  like  in  size 
and  shape  to  those  of  England  that  they  are  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  latter ;  probably  some  will  turn  out 
identically  the  same.  We  ran  among  them  160  miles  by 
the  log,  without  reckoning  any  part  of  last  night,  though 
they  were  seen  till  dark.  We  must  be  now  nearly  opposite 
to  "  Baye  sans  fond,"  *  near  which  place  Mr.  Dalrymple 
supposes  that  there  is  a  passage  quite  through  the  continent 
of  America.  It  would  appear  by  what  we  have  seen  that 
there  is  at  least  a  very  large  river,  probably  at  this  time 
much  flooded,  although  it  is  doubtful  whether  even  that 
could  have  so  great  an  effect  (supposing  us  to  be  twenty 
leagues  from  the  land)  as  to  render  the  water  almost  of  a 
clay  colour,  and  to  bring  insects  such  as  Grylli  and  an 
Aranea,  which  never  fly  twenty  yards.  I  lament  much  not 
having  tasted  the  water  at  the  time,  which  never  occurred 
to  me,  but  probably  the  difference  of  saltness  would  have 
been  hardly  perceptible  to  the  taste,  and  my  hydrostatic 
balance  being  broken  I  had  no  other  method  of  trying  it. 

2nd  January  1769.  Met  with  some  small  shoals  of  red 

1  Probably  the  Gulf  of  San  Mathias. 


46  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

lobsters,  which  have  been  seen  by  almost  every  one  passing 
through  these  seas  ;  they  were,  however,  so  far  from  colouring 
the  sea  red,  as  Dampier  and  Cowley  say  they  do,  that  I  may 
affirm  that  we  never  saw  more  than  a  few  hundreds  of  them 
at  a  time.  We  called  them  Cancer  gregarius. 

3rd.  This  evening  many  large  bunches  of  seaweed  floated 
by  the  ship,  and  we  caught  some  of  it  with  hooks.  It  was 
of  immense  size,  every  leaf  four  feet  long,  and  the  stalk 
about  twelve.  The  footstalk  of  each  leaf  was  swelled  into 
a  long  air-vessel.  Mr.  Gore  tells  me  that  he  has  seen  this 
weed  grow  quite  to  the  top  of  the  water  in  twelve  fathoms ; 
if  so,  the  swelled  footstalks  are  probably  the  trumpet-grass 
or  weed  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  We  described  it,  how- 
ever, as  it  appeared,  and  called  it  Fucus  giganteus.1 

6th.  In  some  of  the  water  taken  up  we  observed  a 
small  and  very  nimble  insect  of  a  conical  figure,  which 
moved  with  a  kind  of  whorl  of  legs  or  tentacula  round  the 
base  of  the  cone.  We  could  not  find  any  Nereides,  or 
indeed  any  other  insect  than  this,  in  the  water,  but  were 
not  able  to  prove  that  he  was  the  cause  of  the  lightness  of 
the  water,  which  was  much  observed  hereabouts,  so  we 
deferred  our  observations  on  the  animal  until  the  morning. 

*Iih.  We  now  for  the  first  time  saw  some  of  the  birds 
called  penguins  by  the  southern  navigators  :  they  seem  much 
of  the  size  and  not  unlike  Alca  pica,  but  are  easily  known 
by  streaks  upon  their  faces  and  their  remarkably  shrill 
cry,  different  from  that  of  any  sea-bird  I  am  acquainted 
with.  We  saw  also  several  seals,  but  much  smaller  than 
those  I  have  seen  in  Newfoundland,  and  black ;  they  gener- 
ally appeared  in  lively  action,  leaping  out  of  the  water 
like  porpoises,  so  much  so  that  some  of  our  people  were 
deceived  by  them,  mistaking  them  for  fish. 

During  a  gale  which  had  lasted  yesterday  and  to-day 
we  observed  vast  numbers  of  birds  about  us.  Procellarice 
of  all  kinds  we  have  before  mentioned ;  gray  ones  and 
another  kind,  all  black,  Procellaria  cequinoctialis  ?  Linn.  We 
could  not  discern  whether  or  not  their  beaks  were  yellow. 

1  Macrocystis  pyrifera,  Ag. 


JAN.  1769  OFF  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  47 

There  were  also  plenty  of  albatrosses.  Indeed,  I  have  ob- 
served a  much  greater  quantity  of  birds  upon  the  wing  in 
gales  than  in  moderate  weather,  owing  perhaps  to  the 
tossing  of  the  waves,  which  must  render  swimming  very 
uneasy.  They  must  be  more  often  seen  flying  than  when 
they  sit  upon  the  water. 

The  ship  has  been  observed  to  go  much  better  since  her 
shaking  in  the  last  gale  of  wind ;  the  seamen  say  that  it  is 
a  general  observation  that  ships  go  better  for  being,  as  they 
say,  loosened  in  their  joints,  so  much  so  that  in  a  chase  it 
is  often  customary  to  knock  down  stanchions,  etc.,  to  make 
the  ship  as  loose  as  possible. 

10th.  Seals  plentiful  to-day,  also  a  kind  of  bird, 
different  from  any  we  have  before  seen.  It  was  black,  and 
a  little  larger  than  a  pigeon,  plump  like  it,  and  easily  known 
by  its  flapping  its  wings  quickly  as  it  flies,  contrary 
to  the  custom  of  sea-birds  in  general.  This  evening  a 
shoal  of  porpoises  of  a  new  species  swam  by  the  ship ; 
they  are  spotted  with  large  dabs  of  white,  with  white  under 
the  belly :  in  other  respects,  as  swimming,  etc.,  they  are 
like  common  porpoises,  only  they  leap  rather  more  nimbly, 
sometimes  lifting  their  whole  bodies  out  of  the  water. 

11th.  This  morning  at  daybreak  we  saw  the  land  of 
Terra  del  Fuego.  By  eight  o'clock  we  were  well  in  with  it. 
Its  appearance  was  not  nearly  so  barren  as  the  writer  of 
Lord  Anson's  voyage  has  represented  it.  We  stood  along 
shore,  about  two  leagues  off,  and  could  see  trees  distinctly 
through  our  glasses.  We  observed  several  smokes,  made 
probably  by  the  natives  as  a  signal  to  us. 

The  hills  seemed  to  be  high,  and  on  them  were  many 
patches  of  snow,  but  the  sea-coast  appeared  fertile,  the  trees 
especially  being  of  a  bright  verdure,  except  in  places  exposed 
to  the  south-west  wind,  which  were  distinguishable  by  their 
brown  appearance.  The  shore  itself  was  sometimes  beach 
and  sometimes  rock. 

12th.  We  took  Beroe  incrassata,  Medusa  limpidissima, 
plicata  and  obliquata,  Alcyonium  anguillare  (probably  the 
thing  that  Shelvocke  mentions  in  his  Voyage  Bound  the 


48  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

World,  p.  60),  and  A.  frustrum,  Ulva  intestinalis,  and  Corallina 
officinalis. 

~L4:th.  Staten  Land  is  much  more  craggy  than  Terra  del 
Fuego,  though  the  view  of  it  in  Lord  Anson's  voyage  is 
exaggerated.  The  Captain  stood  into  a  bay  just  within 
Cape  St.  Vincent  [Staten  Island] ;  and  while  the  ship  stood 
off  and  on,  Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  ashore.  I  found  about 
a  hundred  plants,  though  we  were  not  ashore  above  four  hours. 
Of  these  I  may  say  every  one  was  new,  and  entirely  different 
from  what  either  of  us  had  before  seen. 

The  country  about  this  bay  is,  in  general,  flat.  Here  is, 
however,  good  wood,  water,  and  great  quantities  of  fowl.  In 
the  cod  of  the  bay  is  a  flat  covered  with  grass,  where  much 
hay  might  be  made.  The  bay  itself  is  bad,  affording  but 
little  shelter  for  shipping,  and  in  many  parts  of  it  the  bottom 
is  rocky  and  foul.  This,  however,  may  be  always  known  in 
these  countries  by  the  beds  of  Fucus  giganteus,  which  con- 
stantly grow  upon  the  rock,  and  are  not  seen  upon  sand  or 
ooze.  These  weeds  grow  to  an  immense  length.  We 
sounded  upon  them,  and  found  fourteen  fathoms  of  water. 
As  they  seem  to  make  a  very  acute  angle  with  the  bottom 
in  their  situation  in  the  water,  it  is  difficult  to  guess  how 
long  they  may  be,  but  probably  they  are  not  less  than  half 
as  long  again  as  the  depth  of  the  water,  which  makes  their 
length  126  feet ;  a  wonderful  length  for  a  stalk  not  thicker 
than  a  man's  thumb. 

Among  other  things  the  bay  affords,  there  is  plenty  of 
Winter's  bark,1  easily  known  by  its  broad  leaf,  like  a  laurel, 
of  a  light  green  colour,  bluish  underneath.  The  bark 
is  easily  stripped  off  with  a  bone  or  stick,  as  oaks  are 
barked  in  England.  Its  virtues  are  so  well  known  that  of 
them  I  shall  say  little,  except  that  it  may  be  used  as  a 
spice  even  in  culinary  matters,  and  is  found  to  be  very 
wholesome.  Here  is  also  plenty  of  wild  celery  (Apium 
antiscorbuticum) 2  and  scurvy  grass  (Cardamine  antiscor- 

1  Drimys  Winteri,  Forst. 

2  Apium  prostratum,  Thou.     A  variety  of  the  European  celery,  and  as 
wholesome. 


JAN.  1769  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  49 

butica),1  both  which  are  as  pleasant  to  the  taste  as  any 
herbs  of  the  kind  found  in  Europe,  and,  I  believe,  possess 
as  much  virtue  in  curing  the  scurvy. 

The  trees  here  are  chiefly  of  one  sort,  a  kind  of  birch, 
Betula  antarctica2  with  very  small  leaves.  It  has  a  light 
white  wood,  and  cleaves  very  straight.  The  trees  are  some- 
times between  two  and  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  run  thirty 
or  forty  feet  in  the  bole ;  possibly  they  might,  in  cases  of 
necessity,  supply  top-masts.  There  are  also  great  quantities 
of  cranberries,  both  white  and  red  (Arbutus  rigidcu}?  Inhabit- 
ants I  saw  none,  but  found  their  huts  in  two  places,  once  in 
a  thick  wood,  and  again  close  by  the  beach.  They  are 
most  unartificially  made,  conical,  but  open  on  one  side,  where 
were  marks  of  fire,  which  last  probably  served  them  instead 
of  a  door. 

15tk.  By  dinner  we  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Bay  of 
Good  Success  [Terra  del  Fuego] :  several  Indians 4  were  in 
sight  near  the  shore. 

After  dinner,  went  ashore  on  the  starboard  side  of  the 
bay,  near  some  rocks,  which  made  the  water  smooth  and  the 
landing  good.  Before  we  had  walked  a  hundred  yards, 
many  Indians  made  their  appearance  on  the  other  side  of 
the  bay,  at  the  end  of  a  sandy  beach  which  forms  the  bottom 
of  the  bay,  but  on  seeing  our  numbers  to  be  ten  or  twelve 
they  retreated.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  then  walked  forward  a 
hundred  yards  before  the  rest,  and  two  of  the  Indians 
advanced  also,  and  sat  down  about  fifty  yards  from  their 
companions.  As  soon  as  we  came  up  they  rose,  and  each 
of  them  threw  a  stick  he  had  in  his  hand  away  from  him 
and  us:  a  token,  no  doubt,  of  peace.  They  then  walked 
briskly  towards  the  others,  and  waved  to  us  to  follow,  which 
we  did,  and  were  received  with  many  uncouth  signs  of 
friendship.  "We  distributed  among  them  a  number  of  beads 
and  ribbons,  which  we  had  brought  ashore  for  that  purpose, 

1  Closely  allied  to  the  common  English  weed,  Cardamine  Mrsuta,  Linn. 

2  The  Betula,  of  Banks  is  a  species  of  beech,  Fagus  betuloides,  Mirb. 

3  Pernettya  mucronata,  Gaudich. 

4  Banks  constantly  uses   the  term  Indians  to  denote  the  natives  of  a 
country,  throughout  the  "Journal." 

E 


50  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

and  at  which  they  seemed  mightily  pleased,  so  much  so  that 
when  we  embarked  again  on  our  boat  three  of  them  came 
with  us  and  went  aboard  the  ship.  One  seemed  to  be  a 
priest  or  conjuror,  at  least  we  thought  so  by  the  noises  he 
made,  possibly  exorcising  every  part  of  the  ship  he  came 
into,  for  when  anything  new  caught  his  attention,  he  shouted 
as  loud  as  he  could  for  some  minutes,  without  directing  his 
speech  either  to  us  or  to  any  one  of  his  countrymen.  They 
ate  bread  and  beef  which  we  gave  them,  though  not  heartily, 
but  carried  the  largest  part  away  with  them.  They  would 
not  drink  either  wine  or  spirits,  but  returned  the  glass, 
though  not  before  they  had  put  it  to  their  mouths  and 
tasted  a  drop.  We  conducted  them  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  ship,  and  they  looked  at  everything  without  any 
remarks  of  extraordinary  admiration,  unless  the  noise  which 
our  conjuror  did  not  fail  to  repeat  at  every  new  object  he 
saw  might  be  reckoned  as  such. 

After  having  been  aboard  about  two  hours,  they  expressed 
a  desire  to  go  ashore,  and  a  boat  was  ordered  to  carry  them. 
I  went  with  them,  and  landed  them  among  their  countrymen, 
but  I  cannot  say  that  I  observed  either  the  one  party  curious 
to  ask  questions,  or  the  other  to  relate  what  they  had  seen, 
or  what  usage  they  had  met  with ;  so  after  having  stayed 
ashore  about  half  an  hour,  I  returned  to  the  ship,  and  the 
Indians  immediately  marched  off  from  the  shore. 

16th.  This  morning  very  early  Dr.  Solander  and  I, 
with  our  servants  and  two  seamen  to  assist  in  carrying 
baggage,  and  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Monkhouse  and  Green, 
set  out  from  the  ship  to  try  to  penetrate  as  far  as  we  could 
into  the  country,  and,  if  possible,  gain  the  tops  of  the  hills, 
which  alone  were  not  overgrown  with  trees.  We  entered 
the  woods  at  a  small  sandy  beach  a  little  to  the  westward  of 
the  watering-place,  and  continued  pressing  through  pathless 
thickets,  always  going  uphill,  until  three  o'clock,  before  we 
gained  even  a  near  view  of  the  places  we  intended  to  go  to. 
The  weather  had  all  this  time  been  vastly  fine,  much  like  a 
sunshiny  day  in  May,  so  that  neither  heat  nor  cold  was 
troublesome  to  us,  nor  were  there  any  insects  to  molest  us, 


JAN.  1769  EXCURSION  INLAND  5I 

which  made  me  think  the  travelling  much  better  than  what 
I  had  before  met  with  in  Newfoundland. 

Soon  after  we  saw  the  plains  we  arrived  at  them,  but 
found  to  our  great  disappointment  that  what  we  took  for 
swathe  was  no  better  than  low  bushes  of  birch  reaching  to 
about  a  man's  middle.  These  were  so  stubborn  that  they 
could  not  be  bent  out  of  the  way,  but  at  every  step  the  leg 
must  be  lifted  over  them;  on  being  placed  again  on  the 
ground  it  was  almost  sure  to  sink  above  the  ankle  in  bog. 
No  travelling  could  possibly  be  worse  than  this,  which 
seemed  to  last  about  a  mile,  beyond  which  we  expected  to 
meet  with  bare  rock,  for  such  we  had  seen  from  the  tops  of  the 
lower  hills  as  we  came.  This  I  in  particular  was  infinitely 
eager  to  arrive  at,  expecting  there  to  find  the  alpine  plants  of 
a  country  so  curious.  Our  people,  though  rather  fatigued, 
were  yet  in  good  spirits,  so  we  pushed  on,  intending  to  rest 
ourselves  as  soon  as  we  should  arrive  on  the  level  ground. 

We  proceeded  two-thirds  of  the  way  without  the  least 
difficulty,  and  I  confess  that  I  thought,  for  my  own  part, 
that  all  difficulties  were  surmounted,  when  Mr.  Buchan  fell 
into  a  fit.  A  fire  was  immediately  lit  for  him,  and  with  him 
all  those  who  were  most  tired  remained  behind,  while  Dr. 
Solander,  Mr.  Green,  Mr.  Monkhouse  and  myself  advanced 
for  the  alp,  which  we  reached  almost  immediately,  and  found, 
according  to  expectation,  plants  which  answered  to  those  we 
had  found  before,  as  in  Europe  alpine  ones  do  to  those  which 
are  found  on  the  plains. 

The  air  was  very  cold,  and  we  had  frequent  snow-blasts. 
I  had  now  given  over  all  thought  of  reaching  the  ship  that 
night,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  getting  into  the  thick  of 
the  wood,  and  making  a  fire,  which,  as  our  road  lay  all  down- 
hill, seemed  very  easy  to  accomplish.  So  Messrs.  Green 
and  Monkhouse  returned  to  the  other  people,  and  appointed 
a  hill  for  our  general  rendezvous,  from  whence  we  should 
proceed  and  build  our  wigwam.  The  cold  now  increased 
apace ;  it  might  be  nearly  eight  o'clock,  though  the  daylight 
was  still  exceedingly  good,  so  we  proceeded  to  the  nearest 
valley,  where  the  short  birch,  the  only  thing  we  now  dreaded, 


52  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

could  not  be  half  a  mile  across.      Our  people  seemed  well, 
though  cold,  and  Mr.  Buchan  was  stronger  than  we  could 
have  expected.     I  undertook  to  bring  up  the  rear  and  see 
that  no  one  was  left  behind.     We  got  about  half-way  very 
well,  when  the  cold  seemed  to  have  at  once  an  effect  in- 
finitely beyond  what  I  have  ever  experienced.     Dr.  Solander 
was  the  first  to  feel  it :  he  said  he  could  not  go  any  farther, 
but  must  lie  down,  though  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow,  and  down  he  lay,  notwithstanding  all  I  could  say  to 
the  contrary.      Eichmond,  a  black   servant,  now  also  lay 
down,  and  was  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Doctor.     At 
this  juncture  I  despatched  five  in  advance,  of  whom  Mr. 
Buchan  was  one,  to  make  ready  a  fire  at  the  very  first  con- 
venient place  they  could  find,  while  I  myself,  with  four  more, 
stayed   behind   to  persuade  the  Doctor  and   Eichmond   to 
come  on  if  possible.     With  much  persuasion  and  entreaty 
we  got  through  the  greater  part  of  the  birch,  when  they  both 
gave  out.     Eichmond  said  that  he  could  not  go  any  farther, 
and  when  told  that  if  he  did  not  he  must  be  frozen  to  death, 
only  answered  that  there  he  would  lie  and  die ;  the  Doctor, 
on  the  contrary,  said  that  he  must  sleep  a  little  before  he 
could  go  on,  and  actually  did  so  for  a  full  quarter  of  an 
hour,  after  which  time  we  had  the  welcome  news  of  a  fire 
being  lit  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead.     I  then  undertook 
to  make  the  Doctor  proceed  to  it,  and,  finding  it  impossible 
to  make  Eichmond  stir,  left  two  hands  with  him  who  seemed 
the  least  affected   by  the  cold,  promising  to  send  two  to 
relieve  them  as  soon  as    I  should  reach   the  fire.     With 
much  difficulty  I  got  the  Doctor  to  it,  and  as  soon  as  two 
men  were  properly  warmed  sent  them  out  in  hopes  that 
they  would  bring  Eichmond  and  the  others.     After  staying 
about  half  an  hour  they  returned,  bringing  word  that  they 
had  been  all  round  the  place  shouting  and  hallooing,  but 
could  not  get  any  answer.     We  now  guessed  the  cause  of 
the  mischief:  a  bottle  of  rum,  the  whole  of  our  stock,  was 
missing,  and  we  soon  concluded  that  it  was  in  one  of  their 
knapsacks,  and  that  the  two  who  were  left  in  health  had 
drunk  immoderately  of  it,  and  had  slept  like  the  other. 


JAN.  1769  A  NIGHT  IN  THE  SNOW  53 

For  two  hours  now  it  had  snowed  almost  incessantly, 
so  that  we  had  little  hopes  of  seeing  any  of  the  three  alive ; 
about  midnight,  however,  to  our  great  joy,  we  heard  a  shout- 
ing, on  which  I  and  four  more  went  out  immediately,  and 
found  it  to  be  the  seaman,  who  had  walked,  almost  starved 
to  death,  from  where  he  lay.  I  sent  him  back  to  the  fire 
and  proceeded  by  his  direction  to  find  the  other  two.  Eich- 
mond  was  upon  his  legs,  but  not  able  to  walk ;  the  other  lay 
on  the  ground  as  insensible  as  a  stone.  We  immediately 
called  all  hands  from  the  fire,  and  attempted,  by  all  the 
means  we  could  contrive,  to  bring  them  down,  but  found  it 
absolutely  impossible.  The  road  was  so  bad,  and  the  night 
so  dark,  that  we  could  scarcely  ourselves  get  on,  nor  did  we 
without  many  falls.  We  would  then  have  lit  a  fire  upon 
the  spot,  but  the  snow  on  the  ground,  as  well  as  that  which 
continually  fell,  rendered  this  plan  as  impracticable  as  the 
other,  and  to  bring  fire  from  the  other  place  was  also  im- 
possible from  the  quantity  of  snow  which  fell  every  moment 
from  the  branches  of  the  trees.  We  were  thus  obliged  to 
content  ourselves  with  laying  out  our  unfortunate  com- 
panions upon  a  bed  of  boughs  and  covering  them  over  with 
boughs  as  thickly  as  possible,  and  thus  we  left  them,  hope- 
less of  ever  seeing  them  again  alive,  which,  indeed,  we  never 
did. 

In  this  employment  we  had  spent  an  hour  and  a  half, 
exposed  to  the  most  penetrating  cold  I  ever  felt,  as  well  as 
to  continual  snow.  Peter  Brisco,  another  servant  of  mine, 
began  now  to  complain,  and  before  we  came  to  the  fire 
became  very  ill,  but  got  there  at  last  almost  dead  with  cold. 

Now  might  our  situation  be  called  terrible :  of  twelve, 
our  original  number,  two  were  already  past  all  hopes,  one 
more  was  so  ill  that,  though  he  was  with  us,  I  had  little 
hopes  of  his  being  able  to  walk  in  the  morning,  and  another 
seemed  very  likely  to  relapse  into  his  fits,  either  before  we 
set  out  or  in  the  course  of  our  journey.  We  were  distant 
from  the  ship,  we  did  not  know  how  far ;  we  knew  only 
that  we  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  day  in  walking 
through  pathless  woods :  provision  we  had  none  but  one 


54  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

vulture,  which  had  been  shot  on  the  way,  and  at  the  shortest 
allowance  could  not  furnish  half  a  meal ;  and,  to  complete 
our  misfortunes,  we  were  caught  in  a  snowstorm  in  a  climate 
we  were  utterly  unacquainted  with,  but  which  we  had 
reason  to  believe  was  as  inhospitable  as  any  in  the  world, 
not  only  from  all  the  accounts  we  had  heard  or  read,  but 
from  the  quantity  of  snow  which  we  saw  falling,  though  it 
was  very  little  after  midsummer,  a  circumstance  unheard  of 
in  Europe,  for  even  in  Norway  or  Lapland  snow  is  never 
known  to  fall  in  the  summer. 

1*7  th.  The  morning  now  dawned  and  showed  us  the  earth 
as  well  as  the  tops  of  the  trees  covered  with  snow ;  nor  were 
the  snow  squalls  at  all  less  frequent ;  we  had  no  hopes  now 
but  of  staying  here  as  long  as  the  snow  lasted,  and  how 
long  that  would  be  God  alone  knew. 

About  six  o'clock  the  sun  came  out  a  little,  and  we 
immediately  thought  of  sending  to  see  whether  the  poor 
wretches  we  had  been  so  anxious  about  last  night  were  yet 
alive ;  three  of  our  people  went,  but  soon  returned  with  the 
melancholy  news  of  their  being  both  dead.  The  snow  con- 
tinued to  fall,  though  not  quite  so  thickly  as  before.  About 
eight  o'clock  a  small  breeze  of  wind  sprang  up,  and  with 
the  additional  power  of  the  sun  began  (to  our  great  joy)  to 
clear  the  air,  and  soon  after  the  snow  commenced  to  fall 
from  the  tops  of  the  trees,  a  sure  sign  of  an  approaching 
thaw.  Peter  continued  very  ill,  but  said  he  thought  himself 
able  to  walk ;  Mr.  Buchan,  thank  God,  was  much  better 
than  I  could  have  expected ;  so  we  agreed  to  dress  our 
vulture,  and  prepare  to  set  out  for  the  ship  as  soon  as  the 
snow  should  be  a  little  more  melted.  The  vulture  was 
skinned  and  cut  into  ten  equal  shares,  every  man  cooking 
his  own  share,  which  furnished  about  three  mouthfuls  of 
hot  meat,  the  only  refreshment  we  had  had  since  our  cold 
dinner  yesterday,  and  all  we  were  to  expect  till  we  should 
reach  the  ship. 

About  ten  we  set  out,  and  after  a  march  of  three  hours, 
arrived  at  the  beach  fortunate  in  having  met  with  much 
better  roads  on  our  return  than  in  going  out,  as  well  as 


JAN.  1769  RETURN  TO  THE  SHIP  55 

being  nearer  to  the  ship  than  we  had  any  reason  to  hope  for. 
From  the  ship  we  found  that  we  had  made  a  half-circle 
round  the  hills  instead  of  penetrating,  as  we  thought  we 
had  done,  into  the  inner  part  of  the  country.  With  what 
pleasure  we  congratulated  each  other  on  our  safety  no  one 
can  tell  who  has  not  been  in  such  circumstances. 

ISth.  Peter  was  very  ill  to-day,  and  Mr.  Buchan  not  at 
all  well ;  the  rest  of  us,  thank  God,  in  good  health,  though 
riot  yet  recovered  from  our  fatigue. 

20th.  This  morning  was  very  fine,  so  much  so  that  we 
landed  without  any  difficulty  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay  and 
spent  our  time  very  much  to  our  satisfaction  in  collecting 
shells  and  plants.  Of  the  former  we  found  some  very 
scarce  and  fine,  particularly  limpets ;  of  several  species  of 
these  we  observed  (as  well  as  the  shortness  of  our  time 
would  permit)  that  the  limpet  with  a  longish  hole  at  the 
top  of  his  shell  is  inhabited  by  an  animal  very  different 
from  that  which  has  no  such  hole.  Here  were  also  some 
fine  whelks,  one  particularly  with  a  long  tooth,  and  an 
infinite  variety  of  Lepades,  Sertularice,  Onisci,  etc.,  in  much 
greater  variety  than  I  have  anywhere  seen.  But  the 
shortness  of  our  time  would  not  allow  us  to  examine 
them,  so  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  taking 
specimens  of  as  many  of  them  as  we  could  in  so  short  a 
time  scrape  together. 

We  returned  on  board  to  dinner,  and  afterwards  went 
about  two  miles  into  the  country  to  visit  an  Indian  town,  of 
which  some  of  our  people  had  given  us  news.  We  arrived 
there  in  about  an  hour,  walking  through  a  path  which  I 
suppose  was  their  common  road,  though  it  was  sometimes 
up  to  our  knees  in  mud.  The  town  itself  was  situated  upon 
a  dry  knoll  among  the  trees,  which  had  not  been  at  all 
cleared ;  it  consisted  of  not  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen 
huts  or  wigwams  of  the  most  unartificial  construction  imagin- 
able ;  indeed,  nothing  bearing  the  name  of  a  hut  could  pos- 
sibly be  built  with  less  trouble.  A  hut  consisted  of  a  few 
poles  set  up  and  meeting  together  at  the  top  in  a  conical 
figure,  and  covered  on  the  weather  side  with  a  few  boughs 


56  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

and  a  little  grass ;  on  the  lee  side  about  one-eighth  part  of 
the  circle  was  left  open,  and  against  this  opening  a  fire  was 
made.  Furniture,  I  may  justly  say,  they  had  none  ;  a  little, 
a  very  little,  dry  grass  laid  round  the  edges  of  the  circle 
furnished  both  beds  and  chairs,  and  for  dressing  the  shell- 
fish (the  only  provision  I  saw  them  make  use  of)  they  had 
no  one  contrivance  but  broiling  them  upon  the  coals.  For 
drinking,  I  saw  in  a  corner  of  one  of  their  huts  a  bladder  of 
some  beast  full  of  water ;  in  one  side  of  this  near  the  top 
was  a  hole  through  which  they  drank  by  elevating  a  little  the 
bottom,  which  made  the  water  spring  up  into  their  mouths. 

In  these  few  huts,  and  with  this  small  share,  or  rather 
none  at  all,  of  what  we  call  the  necessaries  and  conveniences 
of  life,  lived  about  fifty  men,  women,  and  children,  to  all 
appearance  contented  with  what  they  had,  not  wishing  for 
anything  we  could  give  them  except  beads.  Of  these  they 
were  very  fond,  preferring  ornamental  things  to  those  which 
might  be  of  real  use,  and  giving  more  in  exchange  for  a 
string  of  beads  than  they  would  for  a  knife  or  a  hatchet. 

Notwithstanding  that  almost  all  writers  who  have  men- 
tioned this  island  have  imputed  to  it  a  want  of  wood,  we 
plainly  distinguished,  even  at  the  distance  of  some  leagues, 
that  the  largest  part  of  the  country,  particularly  near  the 
sea- coast,  was  covered  with  wood,  which  observation  was 
verified  in  both  the  bays  we  put  into.  In  either  of  these 
firing  migjit  be  got  close  by  the  beach  in  any  quantity,  and 
also  trees,  which  to  all  appearance  might  be  fit  for  repairing 
a  vessel,  or  even  in  cases  of  necessity  for  making  masts. 

The  hills  are  high,  though  not  to  be  called  mountains ; 
the  tops  of  these,  however,  are  quite  bare,  and  on  them 
patches  of  snow  were  frequently  to  be  seen,  yet  the  time  of 
the  year  when  we  were  there  answered  to  the  beginning  of 
July  in  England.  In  the  valleys  between  these,  the  soil 
has  much  the  appearance  of  fruitfulness,  and  is  in  some 
places  of  considerable  depth ;  at  the  bottom  of  almost  every 
one  of  these  runs  a  brook,  the  water  of  which  in  general  has 
a  reddish  cast  like  that  which  runs  through  turf  bogs  in 
England ;  it  is  very  well  tasted. 


JAN.  1769         ANIMALS  OF  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  57 

Quadrupeds  I  saw  none  in  the  island,  unless  the  seals 
and  sea-lions,  which  were  often  swimming  about  in  the  bay, 
might  be  called  such ;  but  Dr.  Solander  and  I,  when  we 
were  on  the  top  of  the  highest  hill  reached  by  us,  observed 
the  footsteps  of  a  large  beast  imprinted  on  the  surface  of  a 
bog,  but  could  not  with  any  probability  guess  of  what  kind 
it  might  be. 

Land  birds  were  very  few,  I  saw  none  larger  than  an 
English  blackbird,  except  hawks  and  a  vulture ;  but  water- 
fowl are  much  more  plentiful.  In  the  first  bay  we  were  in 
I  might  have  shot  any  quantity  of  ducks  or  geese,  but 
would  not  spare  the  time  from  gathering  plants ;  in  the 
other  we  shot  some,  but  the  Indians  in  the  neighbourhood 
had  made  them  shy,  as  well  as  much  less  plentiful ;  at  least 
so  we  found. 

Fish  we  saw  few,  nor  could  we  with  our  hooks  take  any 
fit  to  eat :  shell-fish,  however,  are  in  the  greatest  abundance, 
limpets,  mussels,  clams,  etc.,  but  none  of  them  delicate,  yet 
such  as  they  were  we  did  not  despise  them. 

Insects  are  very  scarce,  and  not  one  species  hurtful  or 
troublesome :  during  the  whole  of  our  stay  we  saw  neither 
gnat  nor  mosquito,  a  circumstance  which  few,  if  any, 
uncleared  countries  can  boast  of. 

Of  plants  there  are  many  species,  and  those  truly  the 
most  extraordinary  I  can  imagine ;  in  stature  and  appear- 
ance they  agree  a  good  deal  with  the  European  ones,  only 
in  general  are  less  specious,  white  flowers  being  much  more 
common  among  them  than  any  other  colour ;  but,  to  speak 
of  them  botanically,  probably  no  botanist  has  ever  enjoyed 
more  pleasure  in  the  contemplation  of  his  favourite  pursuit 
than  did  Dr.  Solander  and  I  among  these  plants.  We  have 
not  yet  examined  many  of  them,  but  what  we  have,  have 
proved  in  general  so  entirely  different  from  any  before 
described,  that  we  are  never  tired  of  wondering  at  the 
infinite  variety  of  creation,  and  admiring  the  infinite  care 
with  which  Providence  has  multiplied  her  productions, 
suiting  them  no  doubt  to  the  various  climates  for  which 
they  were  designed.  Trees  are  not  numerous :  a  birch, 


58  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

(Betula  antarctica)}  a  beech  (Fagus  antarctica),  and  winter's 
bark  (Winterana  aromatica)?  are  all  worth  mentioning,  the 
two  first  for  timber,  the  other  for  its  excellent  aromatic 
bark,  so  much  valued  by  physicians.  Of  other  plants  we 
could  not  ascertain  the  virtues,  not  being  able  to  converse 
with  the  Indians,  who  may  have  experienced  them;  but 
the  scurvy  grass,  Oardamine  antiscorbutica,  and  wild  celery, 
Apium  antarcticum,  may  easily  be  known  to  contain  anti- 
scorbutic properties,  capable  of  being  of  great  service  to 
ships  which  may  in  future  touch  here.  Of  these  two,  there- 
fore, I  shall  give  a  short  description.  Scurvy  grass  is  found 
plentifully  in  damp  places  near  springs,  in  general  every- 
where near  the  beach,  especially  at  the  watering-place  in 
the  Bay  of  G-ood  Success.  When  young  and  in  its  greatest 
perfection  it  lies  flat  on  the  ground,  having  many  bright 
green  leaves  standing  in  pairs  opposite  each  other,  with  an 
odd  one,  in  general  the  fifth,  at  the  end.  When  older  it 
shoots  up  in  stalks  sometimes  two  feet  high,  at  the  top  of 
which  are  small  white  blossoms,  which  are  succeeded  by 
long  pods.  The  whole  plant  much  resembles  what  is  called 
Lady's-smock  in  England,  only  that  the  flowers  are  much 
smaller.  Wild  celery  greatly  resembles  the  celery  in  our 
gardens,  only  that  the  leaves  are  of  a  deeper  green ;  the 
flowers,  as  in  ours,  stand  in  small  tufts  at  the  top  of  the 
branches,  and  are  white.  It  grows  plentifully  near  the 
beach,  generally  on  soil  which  is  just  above  the  spring  tides, 
and  is  not  easily  mistaken,  as  the  taste  resembles  celery  or 
parsley,  or  rather  is  between  both.  These  herbs  we  used 
plentifully  while  we  stayed  here,  putting  them  in  our  soup, 
etc.,  and  derived  the  benefit  from  them  which  seamen  in 
general  find  from  a  vegetable  diet  after  having  been  long 
deprived  of  it. 

The  inhabitants  we  saw  here  seemed  to  be  one  small 
tribe  of  Indians,  consisting  of  not  more  than  fifty  of  all 

1  Both  the  beech  and  birch  are  species  of  beech  (Fagus) :  one,  F.  betidoides, 
Mirb.  (the  birch  of  Banks),  is  an  evergreen  ;  the  other,  F.  antarctica,  Forst,  is 
deciduous-leaved. 

2  Drimys  Winteri,  Forst. 


JAN.  1769  INHABITANTS  59 

ages  and  sexes.  They  are  of  a  reddish  colour,  nearly  resem- 
bling that  of  rust  of  iron  mixed  with  oil ;  the  men  are  largely 
built,  but  very  clumsy,  their  height  being  from  five  feet  eight 
inches  to  five  feet  ten  inches,  and  all  very  much  of  the  same 
size.  The  women  are  much  smaller,  seldom  exceeding  five 
feet.  Their  clothes  are  nothing  more  than  a  kind  of  cloak  of 
guanaco  or  seal  skin,  thrown  loosely  over  their  shoulders, 
and  reaching  nearly  to  their  knees ;  under  this  they  have 
nothing  at  all,  nor  anything  to  cover  their  feet,  except  a 
few  who  had  shoes  of  raw  seal  hide  drawn  loosely  round 
their  instep  like  a  purse.  In  this  dress  there  is  no  dis- 
tinction between  men  and  women,  except  that  the  latter 
have  their  cloak  tied  round  their  waist  with  a  kind  of  belt 
or  thong. 

Their  ornaments,  of  which  they  are  extremely  fond, 
consist  of  necklaces,  or  rather  solitaires,  of  shells,  and 
bracelets,  which  the  women  wear  both  on  their  wrists  and 
legs,  the  men  only  on  their  wrists ;  but  to  compensate  for 
this  the  men  have  a  kind  of  wreath  of  brown  worsted  which 
they  wear  over  their  foreheads,  so  that  in  reality  they  are 
more  ornamented  than  the  women. 

They  paint  their  faces  generally  in  horizontal  lines,  just 
under  their  eyes,  and  sometimes  make  the  whole  region 
round  their  eyes  white,  but  these  marks  are  so  much  varied 
that  no  two  we  saw  were  alike.  Whether  they  were  marks 
of  distinction  or  mere  ornaments  I  could  not  at  all  make  out. 
They  seem  also  to  paint  themselves  with  something  like  a 
mixture  of  grease  and  soot  on  particular  occasions,  for  when 
we  went  to  their  town  there  came  out  to  meet  us  two  who 
were  daubed  with  black  lines  in  every  direction,  so  as  to 
form  the  most  diabolical  countenance  imaginable.  These 
two  seemed  to  exorcise  us,  or  at  least  make  a  loud  and  long 
harangue,  which  did  not  seem  to  be  addressed  to  us  or  any 
of  their  countrymen. 

Their  language  is  guttural,  especially  in  particular  words, 
which  they  seem  to  express  much  as  an  Englishman  when  he 
hawks  to  clear  his  throat.  But  they  have  many  words  which 
sound  soft  enough.  During  our  stay  among  them  I  could 


60  RIO  TO  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  CHAP,  in 

learn  but  two  of  their  words  :  halldcd,  which  signifies  beads, 
at  least  so  they  always  said  when  they  wanted  them,  instead 
of  the  ribbons  or  other  trifles  which  I  offered  them ;  and 
ooudd,  which  signifies  water,  for  so  they  said  when  we  took 
them  ashore  from  the  ship  and  by  signs  asked  where  water 
was ;  they  at  the  same  time  made  the  sign  of  drinking 
and  pointed  to  our  casks,  as  well  as  to  the  place  where  we 
put  them  ashore,  where  we  found  plenty  of  water. 

Of  civil  government  I  saw  no  signs ;  no  one  seemed  to 
be  more  respected  than  another;  nor  did  I  ever  see  the 
least  appearance  of  quarrelling  between  any  two  of  them. 
Eeligion  also  they  seemed  to  be  without,  unless  those  people 
who  made  the  strange  noises  I  have  mentioned  before  were 
priests  or  exorcists ;  but  this  is  merely  conjectural. 

Their  food,  so  far  as  we  saw,  was  either  seals  or  shell- 
fish. How  they  took  the  former  we  never  knew,  but  the 
latter  were  collected  by  the  women,  whose  business  it  seemed 
to  be  to  attend  at  low  water  with  a  basket  in  one  hand,  a 
stick  with  a  point  and  a  barb  in  the  other,  and  a  satchel 
on  their  backs.  They  loosened  the  limpets  with  the  stick, 
and  put  them  into  the  basket,  which,  when  full,  was  emptied 
into  the  satchel. 

Their  arms  consisted  of  bows  and  arrows,  the  former 
neatly  enough  made,  the  latter  more  neatly  than  any  I 
have  seen,  polished  to  the  highest  degree,  and  headed  either 
with  glass  or  flint ;  this  was  the  only  neat  thing  they 
had,  and  the  only  thing  they  seemed  to  take  any  pains 
about. 

That  these  people  have  before  had  intercourse  with 
Europeans  was  very  plain  from  many  instances,  first,  from 
the  European  commodities,  of  which  we  saw  sail-cloth, 
brown  woollen  cloth,  beads,  nails,  glass,  etc.,  especially  the 
last  (which  they  used  for  pointing  their  arrows  in  con- 
siderable quantity),  and  also  from  the  confidence  they 
immediately  put  in  us  at  our  first  meeting,  though  well 
acquainted  with  our  superiority,  and  from  the  knowledge 
they  had  of  the  use  of  our  guns,  which  they  very  soon 
showed  by  making  signs  to  me  to  shoot  a  seal.  They 


JAN.  1769  INHABITANTS  61 

probably  travel  and  stay  but  a  short  time  at  a  place,  so  at 
least  it  would  seem  from  the  badness  of  their  houses,  which 
seem  all  built  to  stand  but  for  a  short  time ;  from  their 
having  no  kind  of  household  furniture  but  what  has  a 
handle,  adapted  either  to  be  carried  in  the  hand  or  on  the 
back ;  from  the  thinness  of  their  clothing,  which  seems  little 
calculated  even  to  bear  the  summers  of  this  country,  much 
less  the  winters  ;  from  their  food  of  shell-fish,  which  must 
soon  be  exhausted  at  any  one  spot ;  and  from  the  deserted 
huts  we  saw  in  the  first  bay  we  came  to,  which  had  plainly 
been  inhabited  but  a  short  time  previously,  probably  this 
spring.  Boats  they  had  none  with  them,  but  as  they  were 
not  sea-sick  or  particularly  affected  when  they  came  on 
board  our  ship,  possibly  they  might  have  been  left  at  some 
bay  or  inlet,  which  passes  partly,  but  not  entirely,  through 
this  island  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  from  which  place 
I  should  be  much  inclined  to  believe  these  people  have 
come,  as  so  few  ships  before  ours  have  anchored  upon  any 
part  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 

Their  dogs,  which  I  forgot  to  mention  before,  seem  also 
to  indicate  a  commerce  at  some  time  or  other  with  Europeans, 
they  being  all  of  the  kind  that  bark,  contrary  to  what  has 
been  observed  of  (I  believe)  all  dogs  natives  of  America. 

The  weather  here  has  been  very  uncertain,  though  in 
general  extremely  bad  ;  every  day  since  the  first  more  or  less 
snow  has  fallen,  and  yet  the  thermometer  has  never  been 
below  38°.  Unseasonable  as  this  weather  seems  to  be  in 
the  middle  of  summer,  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  is  generally 
so  here,  for  none  of  the  plants  appear  at  all  affected  by  it, 
and  the  insects  which  hide  themselves  during  a  snow  blast 
are,  the  instant  it  is  fair  again,  as  lively  and  nimble  as  the 
finest  weather  could  make  them.1 

1  Here  follows  a  list  of  104  phanerogamic  and  41  cryptogamic  plants 
collected  in  Terra  del  Fuego. 


CHAPTEE   IV 

TERRA    DEL   FUEGO    TO    OTAHITE 
JAN.  21— APRIL  12,  1769 

Leave  Terra  del  Fuego — Cape  Horn— Albatross  and  other  birds,  etc. — Multi- 
plication of  Dagysa — Cuttlefish  —  Cross  the  line  drawn  by  the  Royal 
Society  between  the  South  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean— Tropic  birds — 
Occultation  of  Saturn — Freshness  of  the  water  taken  on  board  at  Terra 
del  Fuego — Speculations  respecting  a  southern  continent — Marine  animals 
— Suicide  of  a  marine — Scurvy — Lemon  juice — Lagoon  Island  —  King 
George  III.  Island— Means  adopted  for  preventing  the  scurvy — Preserved 


21st  January  1769.  Sailed  this  morning,  the  wind 
foul;  but  our  keeping-boxes  being  full  of  new  plants,  we 
little  regarded  any  wind,  provided  it  was  but  moderate 
enough  to  let  the  draughtsmen  work,  who,  to  do  them 
justice,  are  now  so  used  to  the  sea  that  it  must  blow  a  gale 
of  wind  before  they  leave  off. 

25th.  Wind  to-day  north-west ;  stood  in  with  some 
large  islands,  but  we  could  not  tell  for  certain  whether 
we  saw  any  part  of  the  mainland.  At  some  distance  the 
land  formed  a  bluff  head,  within  which  another  appeared, 
though  but  faintly,  farther  to  the  southward.  Possibly 
that  might  be  Cape  Horn,  but  a  fog  which  overcast  it  almost 
immediately  after  we  saw  it,  hindered  our  making  any 
material  observations  upon  it ;  so  that  all  we  can  say  is, 
that  it  was  the  southernmost  land  we  saw,  and  does  not 
answer  badly  to  the  description  of  Cape  Horn  given  by  the 
French,  who  place  it  upon  an  island,  and  say  that  it  is  two 
bluff  headlands  (vide  Histoire  des  Navigat.  aux  terres  australes, 
torn.  i.  p.  356). 


FEB.  1769  ALBATROSS 


1st  February.  Killed  Diomedea  antarctica,  Procellaria 
lugens  and  turtur.  The  first,  or  black-billed  albatross,  is  much 
like  the  common  one,  but  differs  in  being  scarcely  half  as 
large,  and  having  a  bill  entirely  black.  Procellaria  lugens,  the 
southern  shearwater,  differs  from  the  common  kind  in  being 
smaller  and  of  a  darker  colour  on  the  back,  but  is  easily 
distinguished  by  the  flight,  which  is  heavy,  and  by  two 
fasciae  or  streaks  of  white,  which  are  very  conspicuous  when 
it  flies,  under  its  wings.  Procellaria  turtur,  Mother  Carey's 
dove,  is  of  the  petrel  kind,  about  the  size  of  a  Barbary  dove, 
of  a  light  silvery  blue  upon  the  back,  which  shines  beauti- 
fully as  the  bird  flies.  Its  flight  is  very  swift  and  it  re- 
mains generally  near  the  surface  of  the  water.  More  or  less 
of  these  birds  have  been  seen  very  often  since  we  left  the 
latitude  of  Falkland's  Island,  where  in  a  gale  of  wind  we 
saw  immense  quantities  of  them. 

3rd.  Shot  Diomedea  exulans,  an  albatross,  or  alcatrace, 
much  larger  than  those  seen  to  the  northward  of  the  Straits 
of  Le  Maire,  and  often  quite  white  on  the  back  between  the 
wings,  though  certainly  the  same  species ;  D.  antarctica, 
lesser  black -billed  albatross;  D.  profuga,  lesser  albatross, 
with  a  party-coloured  bill  differing  from  the  last  in  few 
things  except  the  bill,  the  sides  of  which  were  yellow,  with 
black  between  them. 

Atk.  I  had  been  unwell  these  three  or  four  days,  and 
to-day  was  obliged  to  keep  the  cabin  with  a  bilious  attack, 
which,  although  quite  slight,  alarmed  me  a  good  deal,  as 
Captain  Wallis  had  such  an  attack  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
which  he  never  got  the  better  of  throughout  the  whole 
voyage. 

5th.  I  was  well  enough  to  eat  part  of  the  albatrosses 
shot  on  the  3rd ;  they  were  so  good  that  everybody  com- 
mended and  ate  heartily  of  them,  although  there  was  fresh 
pork  upon  the  table.  To  dress  them,  they  are  skinned  over- 
night, and  the  carcases  soaked  in  salt  water  until  morning, 
then  parboiled,  and,  the  water  being  thrown  away,  stewed  well 
with  very  little  water,  and  when  sufficiently  tender  served 
up  with  savoury  sauce. 


64        .  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE          CHAP,  iv 

9th.  This  morning  some  seaweed  floated  past  the  ship, 
and  my  servant  declares  that  he  saw  a  beetle  fly  over  her. 
I  do  not  believe  he  would  deceive  me,  and  he  certainly 
knows  what  a  beetle  is,  as  he  has  these  three  years  been 
often  employed  in  taking  them  for  me. 

1 6th.  Went  in  the  boat  and  killed  Procellaria  velox, 
Nectris  munda  and  fuliginosa,  which  two  last  are  a  new 
genus  between  Procellaria  and  Diomedea :  this  we  reckon  a 
great  acquisition  to  our  bird  collection. 

1*7  th.  Saw  several  porpoises  without  any  "  pinna  dorsalis," 
black  on  the  back,  white  under  the  belly  and  on  the  nose. 
We  saw  also  an  albatross  different  from  any  other  I  have 
seen,  it  being  black  all  over,  except  the  head  and  bill,  which 
were  white. 

21  st.  A  bird  not  seen  before  attended  the  ship;  it  was 
about  the  size  of  a  pigeon,  black  above  and  light-coloured 
underneath.  It  darted  swiftly  along  the  surface  of  the 
water  in  the  same  manner  as  I  have  observed  the  Nectris  to 
do,  of  which  genus  it  is  probably  a  species. 

2Qth.  Albatrosses  began  to  be  much  less  plentiful  than 
they  have  been  (lat.  41°  8'). 

3rd  March.  Killed  Procellaria  velox,  velificans,  sordida, 
melanopus,  lugens,  agilis,  and  Diomedea  exulans.  The  alba- 
tross was  very  brown,  exactly  the  same  as  the  first  I  killed, 
which,  if  I  mistake  not,  was  nearly  in  the  same  latitude  on 
the  other  side  of  the  continent.  Caught  Holothuria  obtusata, 
Phyllodoce  velella,  exactly  the  same  as  those  taken  on  the 
other  side  of  the  continent,  except  in  size,  which  in  these 
did  not  exceed  that  of  an  English  sixpence.  Dagysa  vitrea 
was  also  the  same  as  that  taken  off  Kio  de  Janeiro ;  now, 
however,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  its  extraordinary 
manner  of  breeding.  The  whole  progeny,  fifteen  or  twenty 
in  number,  hung  in  a  chain  from  one  end  of  the  mother,  the 
oldest  only,  or  the  largest,  adhering  to  her,  and  the  rest  to 
each  other. 

Among  a  large  quantity  of  birds  I  had  killed  (sixty-two  in 
all)  I  found  two  Hippoboscce,  or  forest  flies,  both  of  one  species, 
and  different  from  any  described.  More  than  probably  these 


MAR.  1769  OCEANIC  LIFE  65 

belonged  to  the  birds,  and  came  off  with  them  from  the  land. 
I  found  also  this  day  a  large  Sepia,  or  cuttlefish,  lying  in  the 
water,  just  dead,  but  so  pulled  to  pieces  by  the  birds  that 
its  species  could  not  be  determined.  Only  this  I  know, 
that  of  it  was  made  one  of  the  best  soups  I  ever  ate.  It 
was  very  large;  and  its  arms,  instead  of  being  like  the 
European  species,  furnished  with  suckers,  were  armed  with 
a  double  row  of  very  sharp  talons,  resembling  in  shape  those 
of  a  cat,  and  like  them,  retractable  into  a  sheath  of  skin, 
from  whence  they  might  be  thrust  at  pleasure. 

The  weather  has  now  become  pleasantly  warm,  and  the 
barnacles  on  the  ship's  bottom  seem  to  regenerate,  very 
few  of  the  old  ones  remaining  alive,  but  young  ones  without 
number,  scarcely  bigger  than  lentils. 

5th.  It  now  begins  to  be  very  hot;  thermometer  70°, 
and  damp,  with  prodigious  dews  at  night,  greater  than  any 
I  have  felt.  This  renews  our  uncomfortably  damp  situation, 
everything  beginning  to  mould,  as  it  did  about  the  equinoc- 
tial line  in  the  Atlantic. 

*7th.  No  albatrosses  have  been  seen  since  the  4th,  and 
for  some  days  before  that  we  had  only  now  and  then  a 
single  one  in  sight,  so  we  conclude  that  we  have  parted  with 
them  for  good  and  all. 

llth.  A  steady  breeze  had  blown  during  the  last  three 
days,  and  there  was  no  sea  at  all ;  from  whence  we  con- 
cluded that  we  had  passed  the  line  drawn  between  the  Great 
South  Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  the  Council  of  the 
Eoyal  Society ;  notwithstanding  we  are  not  yet  within  the 
tropics. 

13th.  I  saw  a  tropic  bird  for  the  first  time  hovering  over 
the  ship,  but  flying  very  high :  if  my  eyes  did  not  deceive 
me  it  differed  from  that  described  by  Linnaeus  (Phaeton 
aetherius),  in  having  the  long  feathers  of  his  tail  red.  The 
servants  with  a  dipping  net  took  Mimus  wlutator  and 
Phyllodoce  velella,  both  exactly  the  same  as  those  we  saw  in 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  (lat.  30°  45',  long.  126°  23'  45"). 

15th.  This  night  there  was  an  occupation' of  Saturn  by 
the  moon,  which  Mr.  Green  observed,  but  was  unlucky  in 

F 


66  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE          CHAP,  iv 

having  the  weather  so  cloudy  that  the  observation  was  good 
for  little  or  nothing. 

IQth.  Our  water  which  had  been  taken  on  board  at 
Terra  del  Fuego  has  remained  until  this  time  perfectly  good 
without  the  least  change,  which  I  am  told  is  very  rare, 
especially  when,  as  in  our  case,  water  is  brought  from  a  cold 
climate  into  a  hot  one ;  ours,  however,  has  stood  it  without 
any  damage,  and  drinks  as  brisk  and  pleasant  as  when  first 
taken  on  board,  or  better,  for  the  red  colour  it  had  at  first 
has  subsided,  and  it  is  now  as  clear  as  any  English  spring 
water. 

20th.  When  I  look  on  the  charts  of  these  seas,  and 
mark  our  course,  which  has  been  nearly  straight  at  N.W. 
since  we  left  Cape  Horn,  I  cannot  help  wondering  that  we 
have  not  yet  seen  land.  It  is,  however,  some  pleasure  to 
be  able  to  disprove  that  which  only  exists  in  the  opinions 
of  theoretical  writers,  as  are  most  of  those  who  have  written 
anything  about  these  seas  without  having  themselves  been 
in  them.  They  have  generally  supposed  that  every  foot  of 
sea  over  which  they  believed  no  ship  to  have  passed  to  be 
land,  although  they  had  little  or  nothing  to  support  that 
opinion,  except  vague  reports,  many  of  them  mentioned  only 
as  such  by  the  authors  who  first  published  them.  For 
instance,  the  Orange  Tree,  one  of  the  Nassau  fleet,  having 
been  separated  from  her  companions,  and  driven  to  the 
westward,  reported  on  her  joining  them  again  that  she  had 
twice  seen  the  Southern  continent;  both  these  places  are 
laid  down  by  Mr.  Dalrymple  many  degrees  to  the  eastward 
of  our  track,  yet  it  is  probable  that  he  put  them  down  as 
far  to  the  westward  as  he  thought  it  possible  that  the 
Orange  Tree  could  have  gone. 

To  strengthen  these  weak  arguments  another  theory  has 
been  started,  according  to  which  as  much  of  the  South  Sea 
as  its  authors  call  land  must  necessarily  be  so,  for  otherwise 
this  world  would  not  be  properly  balanced,  since  the  quantity 
of  earth  known  to  be  situated  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
would  not  have  a  counterpoise  in  this.  The  number  of  square 
degrees  of  their  land  which  we  have  already  changed  into 


MAR.  1769         SUPPOSED  SOUTHERN  CONTINENT  67 

water  sufficiently  disproves  this,  and  teaches  me  at  least, 
that  till  we  know  how  this  globe  is  fixed  in  that  place 
which  has  been  since  its  creation  assigned  to  it  in  the 
general  system,  we  need  not  be  anxious  to  give  reasons  how 
any  one  part  of  it  counterbalances  the  rest. 

21st.  Took  Turbo  Jtuitans,  floating  on  the  water  in  the 
same  manner  as  Helix  ianthina,  Medusa  porpita,  exactly  like 
that  taken  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent,  and  a  small 
Cimex,  which  had  also  been  taken  before.  This  last  appears 
to  be  a  larva ;  if  so,  it  is  probably  of  some  animal  that  lives 
under  water,  as  I  saw  many,  but  none  that  appeared 
perfect. 

On  Phaeton  erubescens  were  plenty  of  a  very  curious  kind 
of  Acarus  phaetonis,  which  either  was  or  appeared  to  be 
viviparous.  Besides  what  was  shot  to  day,  there  were  seen 
man-of-war  birds  (Pelecanus  aquilus),  and  a  small  bird  of  the 
Sterna  kind,  called  by  the  seamen  egg-birds;  they  were 
white  with  red  beaks,  and  about  the  size  of  Sterna  hirundo. 
Of  these  I  saw  several  juofc  at  nightfall,  flying  very  high  and 
following  one  another,  all  standing  towards  the  N.N.W. ; 
probably  there  is  land  in  that  direction,  as  we  were  not  far 
from  the  spot  where  Quiros  saw  his  southernmost  islands, 
Incarnation  and  St.  John  Baptist. 

24:th.  The  officer  of  the  watch  reported  that  in  the 
middle  watch  the  water,  from  being  roughish,  became  suddenly 
as  smooth  as  a  mill  pond,  so  that  the  ship,  from  going  only 
four  knots,  at  once  increased  to  six,  though  there  was  little 
or  no  more  wind  than  before.  A  log  of  wood  also  which 
was  seen  by  several  people  to  pass  the  ship  made  them 
believe  that  there  was  land  to  windward.  When  I  came  on 
deck  at  eight  o'clock  the  signs  were  all  gone.  I  saw,  how- 
ever, two  birds  which  seemed  to  be  of  the  Sterna  kind,  both 
very  small,  one  quite  white  and  the  other  quite  black,  which 
from  their  appearance  could  not  venture  far  from  land. 

To-day  by  our  reckoning  we  crossed  the  tropic. 

25th.  This  evening  one  of  our  marines  threw  himself 
overboard,  and  was  not  missed  until  it  was  much  too  late 
even  to  attempt  to  recover  him.  He  was  a  very  young  man, 


68  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE          CHAP,  iv 

scarcely  twenty-one  years  of  age,  remarkably  quiet  and 
industrious,  and,  to  make  his  exit  more  melancholy,  was 
driven  to  the  rash  resolution  by  an  accident  so  trifling  that 
it  must  appear  incredible  to  everybody  who  is  not  well 
acquainted  with  the  powerful  effects  that  shame  can  work 
upon  young  minds. 

This  day  at  noon  he  was  sentry  at  the  cabin  door,  and 
while  he  was  on  that  duty,  one  of  the  captain's  servants, 
being  called  away  in  a  hurry,  left  a  piece  of  sealskin  in  his 
charge,  which  it  seems  he  was  going  to  cut  up  to  make 
tobacco  pouches,  some  of  which  he  had  promised  to  several 
of  the  men.  The  poor  young  fellow  had  several  times  asked 
him  for  one,  and  when  refused  had  told  him  that  since  he 
refused  him  so  trifling  a  thing,  he  would,  if  he  could,  steal 
one  from  him.  This  he  put  into  practice  as  soon  as  the 
skin  was  given  into  his  charge,  and  was  of  course  found 
out  immediately,  as  the  other  returned  and  took  the  piece 
he  had  cut  off  from  him,  but  declared  that  he  would  not 
complain  to  the  officers  for  so  trifling  a  cause.  In  the 
meantime  the  fact  came  to  the  ears  of  his  fellow-soldiers, 
thirteen  in  number,  who  stood  up  for  the  honour  of  their 
corps  so  highly  that  before  night  they  drove  the  young 
fellow  almost  mad  by  representing  his  crime  in  the  blackest 
colours  as  a  breach  of  trust  of  the  worst  description.  A 
theft  committed  by  a  sentry  on  duty  they  made  him  think 
a  most  inexcusable  crime,  especially  when  the  thing  stolen 
had  been  given  into  his  charge.  The  sergeant  particularly 
declared  that  if  the  person  aggrieved  would  not  complain, 
he  would  himself  do  so,  for  people  should  not  suffer  scandal 
from  the  ill-behaviour  of  one.  This  affected  the  young  man 
much,  and  he  went  to  his  hammock ;  soon  after  the  sergeant 
called  him  on  deck ;  he  got  up,  and  slipping  past  the 
sergeant,  went  forward ;  it  was  dusk,  and  the  people  were 
not  convinced  that  he  had  gone  overboard  till  half  an  hour 
after  the  event. 

31st.  Myself  not  quite  so  well;  a  little  inflammation  in 
my  throat,  and  swelling  of  the  glands. 

1st  April.  Somewhat  better  to-day.     As  my  complaint 


APR.  1769  LAGOON  ISLAND 


69 


has  something  in  it  that  puts  me  in  mind  of  the  scurvy,  I 
took  up  the  lemon-juice  put  up  by  Dr.  Hulme's  direction, 
and  found  that  that  which  was  concentrated  by  evaporating 
six  gallons  into  less  than  two  has  kept  as  well  as  anything 
could  do.  The  small  cag,  in  which  was  lemon-juice  with 
one-fifth  of  brandy,  was  also  very  good,  though  a  large  part 
of  it  had  leaked  out  by  some  fault  in  the  cag :  this,  there- 
fore, I  began  to  make  use  of  immediately,  drinking  very 
weak  punch  made  with  it  for  my  common  liquor. 

4th.  At  ten  this  morning  my  servant,  Peter  Briscoe, 
saw  land  which  we  had  almost  passed  by ;  we  stood  towards 
it,  and  found  it  to  be  a  small  island  (Lagoon  Island)  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles  in  length ;  those  who  were 
upon  the  topmast-head  perceived  it  to  be  nearly  circular, 
and  to  have  a  lagoon  or  pool  of  water  in  the  middle,  which 
occupied  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  island.  About  noon 
we  were  close  to  it,  within  a  mile  or  thereabouts,  and  dis- 
tinctly saw  inhabitants,  of  whom  we  counted  twenty-four; 
they  appeared  to  us  through  our  glasses  to  be  tall  and  to 
have  very  large  heads,  or  possibly  much  hair  upon  them ; 
eleven  of  them  walked  along  the  beach  abreast  of  the  ship, 
each  with  a  pole  or  pike  as  long  again  as  himself  in  his 
hand.  Every  one  of  them  was  stark  naked,  and  appeared 
of  a  brown  copper  colour ;  as  soon,  however,  as  the  ship  had 
fairly  passed  the  island  they  retired  higher  up  on  the  beach 
and  seemed  to  put  on  some  clothes,  or  at  least  cover  themselves 
with  something  which  made  them  appear  of  a  light  colour. 

The  island  was  covered  with  trees  of  many  different 
verdures :  the  palms  or  cocoanut  trees  we  could  plainly 
distinguish,  particularly  two  that  were  amazingly  taller  than 
their  fellows,  and  at  a  distance  bore  a  great  resemblance  to 
flags.  The  land  seemed  very  low ;  though  at  a  distance 
several  parts  of  it  had  appeared  high,  yet  when  we  came 
near  them  they  proved  to  be  clumps  of  palms.  Under  the 
shade  of  these  were  the  houses  of  the  natives,  in  spots  cleared 
of  all  underwood,  so  that  pleasanter  groves  cannot  be 
imagined,  at  least  so  they  appeared  to  us,  whose  eyes  had  so 
long  been  unused  to  any  other  object  than  water  and  sky. 


70  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE          CHAP,  iv 

After  dinner,  land  was  again  seen,  with  which  we  came 
up  at  sunset ;  it  proved  a  small  island,  not  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  but  almost  round.  We  ran 
within  less  than  a  mile  of  it,  but  saw  no  signs  of  inhabitants, 
or  any  cocoanut  trees,  or  indeed  any  that  bore  the  least 
resemblance  to  palms,  though  there  were  many  sorts  of 
trees,  or  at  least  many  varieties  of  verdure. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  both  this  and  the  other  island 
were  many  birds,  man-of-war  birds,  and  a  small  black  sort 
of  Sterna  with  a  white  spot  on  its  head,  which  the  seamen 
called  noddies,  but  said  that  they  were  much  smaller  than 
the  West  Indian  noddies. 

While  we  were  near  the  island  a  large  fish  was  taken 
with  a  towing-line  baited  with  a  piece  of  pork  rind  cut  like 
a  swallow's  tail ;  the  seamen  called  it  a  king-fish  (Scomber 
lanceolatus). 

§tli.  It  is  now  almost  night,  and  time  for  me  to  wind  up 
the  clue  of  my  this  day's  lucubrations ;  so,  as  we  have 
found  no  island,  I  shall  employ  the  time  and  paper  which  I 
had  allotted  to  describe  one  in  a  work  which  I  am  sure  will  be 
more  useful,  if  not  more  entertaining,  to  all  future  navigators, 
by  describing  the  method  which  we  took  to  cure  cabbage  in 
England.  This  cabbage  we  have  eaten  every  day  since  we  left 
Cape  Horn,  and  have  now  good  store  remaining ;  as  good,  to 
our  palates  at  least,  and  fully  as  green  and  pleasing  to  the 
eye  as  if  it  were  bought  fresh  every  morning  at  Covent 
Garden  Market.  Our  steward  has  given  me  the  receipt, 
which  I  shall  copy  exactly — false  spelling  excepted. 

Take  a  strong  iron-bound  cask,  for  no  weak  or  wooden- 
bound  one  should  ever  be  trusted  in  a  long  voyage.  Take 
out  the  head,  and  when  the  whole  is  well  cleaned,  cover  the 
bottom  with  salt ;  then  take  the  cabbage,  and,  stripping  off 
the  outside  leaves,  take  the  rest  leaf  by  leaf  till  you  come  to 
the  heart,  which  cut  into  four.  Lay  these  leaves  and  heart 
about  two  or  three  inches  thick  upon  the  salt,  and  sprinkle 
salt  freely  over  them  ;  then  lay  cabbage  upon  the  salt, 
stratum  super  stratum,  till  the  cask  is  full.  Then  lay  on 
the  head  of  the  cask  with  a  weight  which,  in  five  or  six 


APR.  1769  SCURVY  AND  LEMON  JUICE  7, 

days,  will  have  pressed  the  cabbage  into  a  much  smaller 
compass.  After  this,  fill  up  the  cask  with  more  cabbage,  as 
before  directed,  and  head  it  up. 

KB. — The  cabbage  should  be  gathered  in  dry  weather, 
some  time  after  sunrise,  so  that  the  dew  may  not  be  upon  it. 
Halves  of  cabbages  are  better  for  keeping  than  single  leaves. 

10th.  Weather  very  hazy  and  thick:  about  nine  it  cleared 
up  a  little,  and  showed  us  Osnaburg  Island,  discovered  by 
the  Dolphin  in  her  last  voyage.  About  one  o'clock  land 
was  seen  ahead  in  the  direction  of  George's  Land ;  it  was, 
however,  so  faint  that  very  few  could  see  it. 

llth.  Up  at  five  this  morning  to  examine  a  shark 
caught  yesterday  evening:  it  proves  to  be  a  blue  shark 
(Squalus  glaucus).  To-day  we  caught  two  more,  which  were 
the  common  gray  shark  (Squalus  carcharias),  on  one  of 
which  were  some  sucking-fish  (Ucheneis  remora).  The  sea- 
men tell  us  that  the  blue  shark  is  the  worst  of  all  to  eat ; 
indeed,  its  smell  is  abominably  strong,  so  as  we  have  two  of 
the  better  sort  it  was  hove  overboard. 

As  I  am  now  on  the  brink  of  going  ashore  after  a  long 
passage,  thank  God,  in  as  good  health  as  man  can  be,  I  shall 
fill  a  little  paper  in  describing  the  means  which  I  have  taken 
to  prevent  the  scurvy  in  particular. 

The  ship  was  supplied  by  the  Admiralty  with  sour-crout, 
of  which  I  eat  constantly,  till  our  salted  cabbage  was  opened, 
which  I  preferred  :  as  a  pleasant  substitute,  wort  was  served 
out  almost  constantly,  and  of  this  I  drank  a  pint  or  more 
every  evening,  but  all  this  did  not  check  the  distemper  so 
entirely  as  to  prevent  my  feeling  some  small  effect  of  it. 
About  a  fortnight  ago  my  gums  swelled,  and  some  small 
pimples  rose  on  the  inside  of  my  mouth,  which  threatened 
to  become  ulcers  ;  I  then  flew  to  the  lemon  juice,  which  had 
been  put  up  for  me  according  to  Dr.  Hulme's  method, 
described  in  his  book,  and  in  his  letter,  which  is  inserted 
here.1  Every  kind  of  liquor  which  I  used  was  made  sour 

1  To  J.  BANKS,  Esq.,  Burlington  Street. — Sir — The  vessels  containing  the 
orange  and  lemon  juice,  sent  by  Dr.  Fothergill,  were  to  be  marked,  that 
you  might  know  their  contents  ;  but  lest  in  the  hurry  of  sending  them  that 


72  TERRA  DEL  FUEGO  TO  OTAHITE          CHAP,  iv 

with  the  lemon  juice  No.  3,  so  that  I  took  nearly  six  ounces 
a  day  of  it ;  the  effect  of  this  was  surprising,  in  less  than  a 
week  my  gums  became  as  firm  as  ever,  and  at  this  time  I 
am  troubled  with  nothing  but  a  few  pimples  on  my  face, 
which  have  not  deterred  me  from  leaving  off  the  juice 
entirely. 

circumstance  should  have  been  neglected,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  explain 
them. 

The  case  No.  1  contains  six  gallons  of  lemon  juice  evaporated  down  to  less 
than  two  gallons.  The  large  cask,  No.  2,  contains  seven  gallons  of  orange 
juice  and  one  gallon  of  brandy.  The  small  cask,  No.  3,  contains  five  quarts 
of  lemon  juice  and  one  of  brandy. 

When  you  come  to  make  use  of  the  juice  which  is  in  the  casks,  do  not 
open  the  bung-hole,  but  draw  it  off  at  the  end  of  the  cask  by  means  of  a 
wooden  cock,  and  make  a  vent-hole  with  a  peg  in  it  at  the  top  of  the  cask  ; 
and  always  observe  this  method  when  you  draw  off  the  juice  you  keep  in 
casks.  It  would  not  be  amiss  if  you  were  to  take  out  with  you  several 
wooden  cocks,  lest  any  should  be  lost  or  broken  ;  and  perhaps  two  or  three 
strong  iron-bound  casks,  holding  ten  gallons  apiece,  might  be  very  useful  for 
taking  in  a  quantity  of  orange,  lemon  or  lime  juice,  when  you  touch  at  any 
place  abroad  where  those  fruits  grow.  Besides  the  juices  I  would  recommend 
to  you  to  carry  out  a  quantity  of  molasses,  and  two  or  three  pounds  of  the 
best  Ohio  and  Strasburg  turpentine,  in  order  to  brew  beer  with  for  your 
daily  drink  when  your  water  becomes  bad.  So  small  a  quantity  of  molasses 
as  two  gallons,  or  two  gallons  and  a  half,  are  said  to  be  sufficient  for  making 
an  hogshead  of  tolerably  good  beer,  and  this  method  of  brewing  beer  at  sea 
will  be  peculiarly  useful  in  case  you  should  have  stinking  water  on  board ;  for  I 
find  by  experiments  that  the  smell  of  stinking  water  will  be  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  process  of  fermentation.  I  sincerely  wish  you  and  your  companions  a 
most  prosperous  voyage  and  a  safe  return  to  old  England,  loaded  with  all  the 
honours  you  so  justly  deserve, — and  am,  sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

N.  HULME. 

HATTON  GABDEN,  August  1,  1768. 


CHAPTEE    V 

OTAHITE 
APKIL  13 — JULY  12,  1769 

Reception  by  natives — Peace  offerings  and  ceremonies — Thieving — Natives 
fired  upon — Death  of  Mr.  Buchan,  the  artist — Lycurgus  and  Hercules — 
Tents  erected — An  honest  native — Flies — Music — A  foreign  axe  found 
—  Thefts  —  Names  of  the  natives  —  The  Dolphin's  queen  —  Quadrant 
stolen  —  Dootahah  made  prisoner — Visit  to  Dootahah — Wrestling— 
Tubourai  offended — Natives  at  divine  service — Cask  stolen — Natives 
swimming  in  surf — Imao — Transit  of  Venus — Nails  stolen  by  sailors — 
Mourning — Previous  visit  of  foreign  ships — Banks  takes  part  in  a  native 
funeral  ceremony — Travelling  musicians — Canoes  seized  for  thefts — Dogs 
as  food — Circumnavigation  of  the  island — Image  of  man  made  of  basket- 
work — Gigantic  buildings  (marai] — Battlefield — Return  to  station — Bread- 
fruit— Excursion  inland — Volcanic  nature  of  the  island — Seeds  planted 
— Dismantling  the  fort — Banks  engages  a  native  to  go  to  England. 

1 3th.  This  morning  early  we  came  to  an  anchor  in 
Port-royal  by  King  George-the-Third's  Island.  Before  the 
anchor  was  down  we  were  surrounded  by  a  large  number  of 
canoes,  the  people  trading  very  quietly  and  civilly,  chiefly 
for  beads,  in  exchange  for  which  they  gave  cocoanuts,  bread- 
fruit both  roasted  and  raw,  some  small  fish  and  apples. 
They  had  one  pig  with  them  which  they  refused  to  sell  for 
nails  upon  any  account,  but  repeatedly  offered  it  for  a 
hatchet ;  of  these  we  had  very  few  on  board,  so  thought  it 
better  to  let  the  pig  go  than  to  give  one  of  them  in  exchange, 
knowing,  on  the  authority  of  those  who  had  been  here  be- 
fore, that  if  we  did  so  they  would  never  lower  their  price. 

As  soon  as  the  anchors  were  well  down  the  boats  were 
hoisted  out,  and  we  all  went  ashore,  where  we  were  met  by 
some  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants,  whose  faces  at  least  gave 


74  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

evident  signs  that  we  were  not  unwelcome  guests,  although 
at  first  they  hardly  dared  approach  us ;  after  a  little  while 
they  became  very  familiar.  The  first  who  approached  us 
came  creeping  almost  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  gave  us 
a  green  bough,  the  token  of  peace ;  this  we  received,  and 
immediately  each  of  us  gathered  a  green  bough  and  carried 
it  in  our  hands.  They  marched  with  us  about  half  a  mile, 
then  made  a  general  halt,  and  scraping  the  ground  clean  from 
the  plants  that  grew  upon  it,  every  one  of  the  chiefs  threw 
his  bough  down  upon  the  bare  place,  and  made  signs  that 
we  should  do  the  same.  The  marines  were  drawn  up,  and, 
marching  in  order,  dropped  each  a  bough  upon  those  that 
the  Indians  had  laid  down ;  we  all  followed  their  example, 
and  thus  peace  was  concluded.  We  then  walked  into  the 
woods  followed  by  the  whole  train,  to  whom  we  gave  beads 
and  small  presents.  In  this  manner  we  proceeded  for 
four  or  five  miles,  under  groves  of  cocoanut  and  bread- 
fruit trees,  loaded  with  a  profusion  of  fruit,  and  giving  the 
most  grateful  shade  I  have  ever  experienced.  Under  these 
were  the  habitations  of  the  people,  most  of  them  without 
walls  ;  in  short,  the  scene  that  we  saw  was  the  truest  picture 
of  an  Arcadia  of  which  we  were  going  to  be  kings  that  the 
imagination  can  form. 

Our  pleasure  in  seeing  this  was,  however,  not  a  little 
allayed  by  finding  in  all  our  walk  only  two  hogs,  and  not 
one  fowl.  Those  of  our  crew  who  had  been  with  the 
Dolphin  told  us  that  the  people  whom  we  saw  were  only  of 
the  common  sort,  and  that  the  bettermost  had  certainly 
removed :  as  a  proof  of  this  they  took  us  to  the  place  where 
the  Queen's  palace  had  formerly  stood,  and  of  which  there 
were  no  traces  left.  We,  however,  resolved  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged at  this,  but  to  proceed  to-morrow  morning  in 
search  of  the  place  to  which  these  superior  people  had  re- 
moved, in  hopes  of  making  the  same  peace  with  them  as 
with  our  friends  the  blackguards. 

I4:th.  Several  canoes  came  to  the  ship,  including  two  in 
which  were  people  who,  by  their  dress  and  appearance, 
seemed  to  be  of  a  rank  superior  to  those  whom  we  had  seen 


APR.  1769  RECEPTION  BY  THE  NATIVES  75 

yesterday.  These  we  invited  to  come  on  board,  and  in 
coming  into  the  cabin  each  singled  out  his  friend:  one 
took  the  captain,  and  the  other  chose  myself.  Each 
took  off  a  large  part  of  his  clothes,  and  dressed  his  friend 
with  what  he  took  off;  in  return  for  this  we  presented  them 
with  a  hatchet  and  some  beads  apiece.  As  they  made 
many  signs  to  us  to  go  to  the  places  where  they  lived,  to 
the  south-west  of  where  we  lay,  the  boats  were  hoisted  out, 
and,  taking  them  with  us,  we  immediately  proceeded  accord- 
ing to  their  directions. 

After  rowing  about  a  league,  they  beckoned  us  on  shore, 
and  showed  us  a  long  house  where  they  gave  us  to  under- 
stand that  they  lived:  here  we  landed  and  were  met  by 
some  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants,  who  conducted  us  into 
the  long  house.  Mats  were  spread,  and  we  were  desired  to 
sit  down  fronting  an  old  man  whom  we  had  not  before  seen. 
He  immediately  ordered  a  cock  and  a  hen  to  be  brought, 
which  were  presented  to  Captain  Cook  and  myself.  We 
accepted  the  present ;  a  piece  of  cloth  was  then  presented 
to  each  of  us,  perfumed,  not  disagreeably,  after  their  manner, 
as  they  took  great  pains  to  make  us  understand.  My  piece 
was  eleven  yards  long  by  two  wide.  For  this  I  made  re- 
turn by  presenting  him  with  a  large  laced  silk  neck-cloth 
I  had  on,  and  a  linen  pocket  handkerchief:  these  he 
immediately  put  on  and  seemed  much  pleased.  After 
this  ceremony  was  over  we  walked  freely  about  several 
large  houses,  attended  by  the  ladies,  who  showed  us  all  kinds 
of  civilities. 

We  now  took  leave  of  our  friendly  chief,  and  proceeded 
along  shore  for  about  a  mile,  when  we  were  met  by  a  throng 
of  people,  at  the  head  of  whom  appeared  another  chief.  We 
had  learned  the  ceremony  we  were  to  go  through,  namely,  to 
receive  the  green  bough  always  brought  to  us  at  every  fresh 
meeting,  and  to  ratify  the  peace  of  which  it  was  the  emblem, 
by  laying  our  hands  on  our  breasts  and  saying  Taio,  which 
I  imagine  signifies  friend.  The  bough  was  here  offered  and 
accepted,  and  every  one  of  us  said  Taio;  the  chief  then 
made  signs  that  if  we  chose  to  eat,  he  had  victuals  ready : 


76  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

we  accordingly  dined  heartily  on  fish  and  bread-fruit  with 
plantains,  etc.,  dressed  after  their  method.  Kaw  fish  was 
offered  to  us,  which  it  seems  they  themselves  eat.  The  ad- 
ventures of  this  entertainment  I  much  wish  to  record  parti- 
cularly, but  am  so  much  hurried  by  attending  the  Indians 
ashore  almost  all  day  long,  that  I  fear  I  shall  scarcely  under- 
stand my  own  language  when  I  read  it  again. 

Our  chief's  own  wife  (ugly  enough  in  conscience)  did  me 
the  honour  with  very  little  invitation  to  squat  down  on  the 
mats  close  by  me ;  no  sooner  had  she  done  so  than  I  espied 
among  the  common  crowd  a  very  pretty  girl  with  a  fire  in 
her  eyes  that  I  had  not  before  seen  in  the  country.  Un- 
conscious of  the  dignity  of  my  companion  I  beckoned  to  the 
other,  who,  after  some  entreaties,  came  and  sat  on  the  other 
side  of  me.  I  was  then  desirous  of  getting  rid  of  my 
former  companion,  so  I  ceased  to  attend  to  her,  and  loaded 
my  pretty  girl  with  beads  and  every  present  I  could  think 
pleasing  to  her :  the  other  showed  much  disgust,  but  did  not 
quit  her  place,  and  continued  to  supply  me  with  fish  and 
cocoanut  milk. 

How  this  would  have  ended  is  hard  to  say ;  it  was 
interrupted  by  an  accident  which  gave  us  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  much  of  the  people's  manners.  Dr.  Solander 
and  another  gentleman  who  had  not  been  in  as  good 
company  as  myself  found  their  pockets  had  been  picked : 
one  had  lost  a  snuff-box,  the  other  an  opera-glass.  Com- 
plaint was  made  to  the  chief,  and  to  give  it  weight  I  started 
up  from  the  ground,  and  striking  the  butt  end  of  my  gun, 
made  a  rattling  noise  which  I  had  before  used  in  our 
walk  to  frighten  the  people  and  keep  them  at  a  distance. 
Upon  this  every  one  of  the  common  sort  (among  whom 
was  my  pretty  girl)  ran  like  sheep  from  the  house,  leaving 
us  with  only  the  chief,  his  three  wives,  and  two  or  three 
better  dressed  than  the  rest,  whose  quality  I  do  not  guess 
at.  The  chief  then  took  me  by  the  hand  to  the  other  end 
of  the  house  where  lay  a  large  quantity  of  their  cloth ;  this 
he  offered  to  me  piece  by  piece,  making  signs  that  if  it 
would  make  amends,  I  might  take  any  part  or  all.  I  put 


APR.  1769  THEFTS  OF  THE  NATIVES  77 

it  back,  and  by  signs  told  him  that  I  wanted  nothing  but 
our  own,  which  his  people  had  stolen :  on  this  he  gave  me 
into  the  charge  of  my  faithful  companion  his  wife,  who  had 
never  budged  an  inch  from  my  elbow.  With  her  I  sat 
down  on  the  mat,  and  conversed  by  signs  for  nearly  half  an 
hour,  after  which  time  the  chief  came  back  bringing  the 
snuff-box  and  the  case  of  the  opera-glass,  which,  with  vast 
pleasure  in  his  countenance,  he  returned  to  the  owners  ;  but 
his  face  changed  when  he  was  shown  that  the  case  was 
empty.  He  then  took  me  by  the  hand  and  walked  along 
shore  with  great  rapidity  about  a  mile ;  on  the  way  he  re- 
received  a  piece  of  cloth  from  a  woman  which  he  carried  in 
his  hand.  At  last  we  came  to  a  house  in  which  we  were 
received  by  a  woman :  to  her  he  gave  the  cloth  and  told  us 
to  give  her  some  beads.  The  cloth  and  beads  were  left  on 
the  floor  by  us,  and  she  went  out  and  returned  in  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  bringing  the  glass  in  her  hand,  with  a 
vast  expression  of  joy  on  her  countenance,  for  few  faces  have 
I  seen  with  more  expression  in  them  than  those  of  these 
people.  The  beads  were  now  returned  with  a  positive 
resolution  of  not  accepting  them,  and  the  cloth  was  as 
resolutely  forced  upon  Dr.  Solander  as  a  recompense  for  his 
loss ;  he  then  made  a  present  of  beads  to  the  lady.  Our 
ceremonies  ended,  we  returned  to  the  ship,  admiring  a 
policy,  at  least  equal  to  any  one  we  had  seen  in  civilised 
countries,  exercised  by  people  who  have  never  had  any 
advantage  but  mere  natural  interest  uninstructed  by  the 
example  of  any  civilised  country. 

15th.  This  morning  we  landed  at  the  watering-place, 
bringing  with  us  a  small  tent,  which  we  set  up.  Whilst 
doing  this  we  were  attended  by  some  hundreds  of  the  natives, 
who  showed  a  deference  and  respect  to  us  which  much 
amazed  me.  I  drew  a  line  before  them  with  the  butt  end 
of  my  musket,  and  made  signs  to  them  to  sit  down  without 
it.  They  obeyed  instantly,  and  not  a  man  attempted  to  set 
a  foot  within  it.  Above  two  hours  were  thus  spent,  and 
not  the  least  disorder  being  committed,  we  proposed  to 
walk  into  the  woods  and  see  if  to-day  we  might  not  find 


78  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

more  hogs,  etc.,  than  when  we  had  last  visited  them,  suppos- 
ing it  probable  that  some  at  least  had  been  driven  away 
on  our  arrival.  This  in  particular  tempted  us  to  go,  with 
many  other  circumstances,  although  an  old  man  (an  Indian 
well  known  to  the  Dolphin's  crew)  attempted  by  many  signs 
to  hinder  us  from  going  into  the  woods ;  the  tent  was  left 
in  charge  of  a  midshipman  with  the  marines,  thirteen  in 
number.  We  marched  away,  and  were  absent  about  two  hours. 
Shortly  before  we  came  back  we  heard  several  musket  shots. 
Our  old  man  immediately  called  us  together,  and,  by  waving 
his  hand,  sent  away  every  Indian  who  followed  us  except 
three,  every  one  of  whom  took  in  their  hands  a  green  bough  ; 
on  this  we  suspected  that  some  mischief  had  happened  at 
the  tent,  and  hastened  home  with  all  expedition.  On  our 
arrival  we  found  that  an  Indian  had  snatched  a  sentry's 
musket  from  him  unawares  and  run  off.  The  midshipman 
(may  be)  imprudently  ordered  the  marines  to  fire,  which 
they  did,  into  the  thickest  of  the  flying  crowd,  some  hundreds 
in  number,  and  pursuing  the  man  who  had  stolen  the  musket, 
killed  him.  Whether  any  others  were  killed  or  hurt  no 
one  could  tell.  No  Indian  was  now  to  be  seen  about  the 
tent  except  our  old  man,  who  with  us  took  all  pains  to 
reconcile  them  again  before  night.  By  his  means  we  got 
together  a  few  of  them,  and  explaining  to  them  that  the 
man  who  had  suffered  was  guilty  of  a  crime  deserving  of 
death  (for  so  were  we  forced  to  make  it),  we  retired  to  the 
ship,  not  well  pleased  with  the  day's  expedition,  guilty,  no 
doubt,  in  some  measure  of  the  death  of  a  man  whom  the 
most  severe  laws  of  equity  would  not  have  condemned  to 
so  severe  a  punishment. 

16th.  No  canoes  about  the  ship  this  morning,  indeed  we 
could  not  expect  any,  as  it  is  probable  that  the  news  of  our 
behaviour  yesterday  was  now  known  everywhere,  a  circum- 
stance which  doubtless  will  not  increase  the  confidence  of 
our  friends  the  Indians.  We  were  rather  surprised  that 
the  Dolphin's  old  man,  who  seemed  yesterday  so  desirous  of 
making  peace,  did  not  come  on  board  to-day.  Some  few 
people  were  upon  the  beach,  but  very  few  in  proportion  to 


APR.  1769  DEATH  OF  MR.  BUCHAN  79 

what  we  saw  yesterday.  At  noon  went  ashore,  the  people 
rather  shy  of  us,  as  we  must  expect  them  to  be,  till  by  good 
usage  we  can  gain  anew  their  confidence. 

Poor  Mr.  Buchan,  the  young  man  whom  I  brought  out 
as  landscape  and  figure  painter,  was  yesterday  attacked  by 
an  epileptic  fit;  he  was  to-day  quite  insensible,  and  our 
surgeon  gives  me  very  little  hopes  of  him. 

llth.  At  two  this  morning  Mr.  Buchan  died  ;  about  nine 
everything  was  made  ready  for  his  interment,  he  being 
already  so  much  changed  that  it  would  not  be  practicable 
to  keep  him  even  till  night.  Dr.  Solander,  Mr.  Sporing, 
Mr.  Parkinson,  and  some  of  the  officers  of  the  ship,  attended 
his  funeral.  I  sincerely  regret  him  as  an  ingenious  and 
good  young  man,  but  his  loss  to  me  is  irretrievable ;  my 
airy  dreams  of  entertaining  my  friends  in  England  with  the 
scenes  that  I  am  to  see  here  have  vanished.  No  account 
of  the  figures  and  dresses  of  the  natives  can  be  satisfactory 
unless  illustrated  by  figures ;  had  Providence  spared  him  a 
month  longer,  what  an  advantage  would  it  have  been  to  my 
undertaking,  but  I  must  submit. 

Our  two  friends,  the  chiefs  of  the  west,  came  this  morning 
to  see  us.  One  I  shall  for  the  future  call  Lycurgus,  from 
the  justice  he  executed  on  his  offending  subjects  on  the  14th  ; 
the  other,  from  the  large  size  of  his  body,  I  shall  call  Hercules. 
Each  brought  a  hog  and  bread-fruit  ready  dressed  as  a  present, 
for  which  they  were  presented  in  return  with  a  hatchet  and 
a  nail  apiece.  Hercules's  present  is  the  largest ;  he  seems 
indeed  to  be  the  richest  man. 

In  the  afternoon  we  all  went  ashore  to  measure  out  the 
ground  for  the  tents,  which  done,  Captain  Cook  and  Mr. 
Green  slept  ashore  in  a  tent  erected  for  that  purpose, 
after  having  observed  an  eclipse  of  one  of  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter. 

18th.  The  Indians  brought  down  such  great  provision  of 
cocoanuts  and  bread-fruit  to-day  that  before  night  we  were 
obliged  to  leave  off  buying,  and  acquaint  them  by  signs  that 
we  should  not  want  any  more  for  two  days.  Everything 
was  bought  for  beads,  a  bead  about  as  large  as  a  pea 


8o  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

purchasing  four  or  six  bread-fruits  and  a  like  number  of 
cocoanuts.  My  tents  were  got  up  before  night,  and  I  slept 
ashore  in  them  for  the  first  time.  The  lines  were  guarded 
by  many  sentries,  but  no  Indian  attempted  to  come  near 
them  during  the  whole  night. 

19th.  This  morning  Lycurgus  and  his  wife  came  to  see 
us  and  brought  with  them  all  their  household  furniture,  and 
even  houses  to  be  erected  in  our  neighbourhood,  a  circum- 
stance which  gave  me  great  pleasure,  as  I  had  spared  no 
pains  to  gain  the  friendship  of  this  man,  who  seemed  more 
sensible  than  any  of  his  fellow-chiefs  we  have  seen.  His 
behaviour  in  this  instance  makes  us  sure  of  having  gained 
his  confidence  at  least. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  he  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led 
me  out  of  the  lines,  signing  that  I  should  accompany  him 
into  the  woods,  which  I  did  willingly,  as  I  was  desirous  of 
knowing  how  near  us  he  intended  to  settle.  I  followed 
him  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  we  arrived  at  a  small 
house,  or  rather  the  awning  of  a  canoe  set  up  on  the  shore, 
which  seemed  to  be  his  temporary  habitation.  Here  he 
unfolded  a  bundle  of  their  cloths  and  clothed  me  in  two 
garments,  one  of  red  cloth,  the  other  of  a  very  pretty  matting, 
after  which  we  returned  to  the  tents.  He  ate  pork  and 
bread-fruit  which  was  brought  him  in  a  basket,  using  salt- 
water instead  of  sauce,  and  then  retired  into  my  bed-chamber 
and  slept  about  half  an  hour. 

About  dinner-time  Lycurgus's  wife  brought  a  handsome 
young  man  of  about  twenty-two  to  the  tents,  whom  they 
both  seemed  to  acknowledge  as  their  son ;  at  night  he  and 
another  chief,  who  had  also  visited  us,  went  away  to  the 
westward,  but  Lycurgus  and  his  wife  went  towards  the 
place  I  was  at  in  the  morning,  which  makes  us  not  doubt 
of  their  staying  with  us  for  the  future. 

20th.  Eained  hard  all  this  day,  at  intervals  so  much  so 
that  we  could  not  stir  at  all :  the  people,  however,  went  on 
briskly  with  the  fortification  in  spite  of  weather.  Lycurgus 
dined  with  us,  he  imitated  our  manners  in  every  instance, 
already  holding  a  knife  and  fork  more  handily  than  a  French- 


APR.  1769  NATIVES'  FRIENDSHIP  81 

man  could  learn  to  do  in  years.  In  spite  of  the  rain  some 
provisions  are  brought  to  the  market,  which  is  kept  just 
without  the  lines. 

21st.  Several  of  our  friends  at  the  tents  this  morning; 
one  from  his  grim  countenance  we  have  called  Ajax,  and  at 
one  time  thought  to  be  a  great  king.  He  had  in  his  canoe  a 
hog,  but  chose  rather  to  sell  it  in  the  market  than  give  it  to 
us  as  a  present,  which  we  accounted  for  by  his  having  in 
the  morning  received  a  shirt  in  return  for  a  piece  of  cloth ; 
this  may  have  made  him  fear  that  had  he  given  the  hog  it 
might  have  been  taken  into  the  bargain,  a  proceeding  very 
different  from  that  of  our  friend  Lycurgus,  who  seems  in 
every  instance  to  place  a  most  unbounded  confidence  in  us. 

22nd.  Our  friends  as  usual  come  early  to  visit  us, 
Hercules  with  two  pigs,  and  a  Dolphin's  axe  which  he  wished 
to  have  repaired,  as  it  accordingly  was.  Lycurgus  brought 
a  large  fish,  an  acceptable  present,  as  that  article  has  always 
been  scarce  with  us.  Trade  brisk  to-day;  since  our  new 
manufacture  of  hatchets  has  been  set  on  foot  we  get  some 
hogs,  though  our  tools  are  so  small  and  bad  that  I  only 
wonder  how  they  can  stand  one  stroke. 

The  flies  have  been  so  troublesome  ever  since  we  have 
been  ashore,  that  we  can  scarcely  get  any  business  done ; 
they  eat  the  painter's  colours  off  the  paper  as  fast  as  they 
can  be  laid  on,  and  if  a  fish  has  to  be  drawn,  there  is  more 
trouble  in  keeping  them  off  than  in  the  drawing  itself. 

Many  expedients  have  been  thought  of,  but  none  succeed 
better  than  a  mosquito-net  covering  table,  chair,  painter  and 
drawings,  but  even  that  is  not  sufficient.  A  fly-trap  was 
necessary  within  this  to  attract  the  vermin  from  eating  the 
colours.  For  this  purpose  tar  and  molasses  were  mixed 
yesterday  together,  but  this  did  not  succeed,  for  the  plate 
which  had  been  smeared  with  it  was  left  outside  the  tent  to 
clean,  and  one  of  the  Indians  noticing  this  took  the  oppor- 
tunity, when  he  thought  no  one  was  observing  him,  of  taking 
some  of  this  mixture  up  into  his  hand.  I  saw  him,  and  was 
curious  to  know  for  what  use  it  was  intended :  the  gentle- 
man had  a  large  sore  on  his  body,  to  which  this  clammy 

G 


82  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

liniment  was  applied,  but  with  what  result  I  never  took  the 
trouble  to  inquire. 

Hercules  to-day  gave  us  a  specimen  of  the  music  of  this 
country ;  four  people  performed  upon  flutes,  which  they 
sounded  with  one  nostril,  while  they  stopped  the  other 
with  their  thumbs :  to  these  four  others  sang,  keeping  very 
good  time,  but  during  half  an  hour  they  played  only  one 
tune,  consisting  of  not  more  than  five  or  six  notes ;  more  I 
am  inclined  to  think  they  have  not  upon  their  instruments, 
which  have  only  two  stops. 

23rd.  Mr.  Green  and  myself  went  to-day  a  little  way 
upon  the  hills  in  order  to  see  how  the  roads  were.  Lycurgus 
went  with  us,  but  complained  much  at  the  ascent,  saying 
that  it  would  kill  him.  We  found  as  far  as  we  went, 
possibly  three  miles,  exceedingly  good  paths,  and  at  the  end 
of  our  walk  we  met  boys  bringing  wood  from  the  mountains, 
which  we  look  upon  as  a  proof  that  the  journey  will  be  very 
easy  whenever  we  attempt  to  go  higher. 

We  had  this  evening  some  conversation  about  an  axe 
which  was  brought  in  the  morning  by  Hercules  to  be  ground. 
It  was  very  different  from  our  English  ones,  and  several  gentle- 
men were  of  opinion  that  it  was  French.  Some  went  so  far 
as  to  give  it  as  their  opinion  that  some  other  ship  had  been 
here  since  the  Dolphin.  The  difficulty,  however,  appeared 
to  be  easily  solved  by  supposing  axes  to  have  been  taken  in 
the  Dolphin  for  trade,  in  which  case  old  ones  of  any  make 
might  have  been  bought,  for  many  such  I  suppose  there  are 
in  every  old  iron  shop  in  London. 

25th.  I  do  not  know  by  what  accident  I  have  so  long 
omitted  to  mention  how  much  these  people  are  given  to 
thieving.  I  will  make  up  for  my  neglect  to-day,  however,  by 
saying  that  great  and  small,  chiefs  and  common  men,  all  are 
firmly  of  opinion  that  if  they  can  once  get  possession  of 
anything  it  immediately  becomes  their  own.  This  we  were 
convinced  of  the  very  second  day  we  were  here ;  the  chiefs 
were  employed  in  stealing  what  they  could  in  the  cabin, 
while  their  dependents  took  everything  that  was  loose 
about  the  ship,  even  the  glass  ports  not  escaping  them,  of 


APR.  1769  THIEVING  OF  THE  NATIVES  83 

which  they  got  off  with  two.  Lycurgus  and  Hercules  were 
the  only  two  who  had  not  yet  been  found  guilty ;  but  they 
stood  in  our  opinion  but  upon  ticklish  ground,  as  we  could 
not  well  suppose  them  entirely  free  from  a  vice  their  country- 
men were  so  much  given  to. 

Last  night  Dr.  Solander  lent  his  knife  to  one  of 
Lycurgus's  women,  who  forgot  to  return  it ;  this  morning 
mine  was  missing.  I  resolved  to  go  to  Lycurgus,  and  ask 
him  whether  or  not  he  had  stolen  it,  trusting  that  if  he  had 
he  would  return  it.  On  taxing  him  with  it,  he  denied 
knowing  anything  concerning  it.  I  told  him  I  was  resolved 
to  have  it  returned ;  on  this  a  man  present  produced  a  rag 
in  which  were  tied  up  three  knives.  One  was  Dr.  Solander's, 
the  other  a  table-knife,  and  the  third  no  one  claimed.  With 
these  he  marched  to  the  tents  to  make  restitution,  while  I 
remained  with  the  women,  who  much  feared  that  he  would 
be  hurt.  Arrived  there,  he  restored  the  two  knives  to  the 
proper  owners,  and  began  immediately  to  search  for  mine  in 
all  the  places  where  he  had  ever  seen  it.  One  of  my 
servants  seeing  what  he  was  about  brought  it  to  him ;  he 
had,  it  seems,  laid  it  aside  the  day  before  without  my 
knowledge.  Lycurgus  then  burst  into  tears,  making  signs 
with  my  knife  that  if  he  was  ever  guilty  of  such  an  action 
he  would  submit  to  have  his  throat  cut.  He  returned 
immediately  to  me  with  a  countenance  sufficiently  upbraid- 
ing me  for  my  suspicions ;  the  scene  was  immediately 
changed,  I  became  the  guilty  and  he  the  innocent  person. 
A  few  presents  and  staying  a  little  with  him  reconciled  him 
entirely ;  his  behaviour,  however,  has  given  me  a  much 
higher  opinion  of  him  than  of  his  countrymen. 

2*7£A.  Lycurgus  and  a  friend  of  his  (who  ate  most 
monstrously,  and  was  accordingly  christened  Epicurus)  dined 
with  us.  At  night  they  took  their  leave  and  departed ;  but 
Lycurgus  soon  returned  with  fire  in  his  eyes,  seized  my 
arm,  and  signed  to  me  to  follow  him.  I  did,  and  he 
soon  brought  me  to  a  place  where  was  our  butcher,  who,  he 
told  me  by  signs,  had  either  threatened  or  attempted  to  cut 
his  wife's  throat  with  a  reaping-hook  he  had  in  his  hand. 


84  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

I  signed  to  him  that  the  man  should  be  punished  to-morrow 
if  he  would  only  clearly  explain  the  offence,  which  made 
him  so  angry  that  his  signs  were  almost  unintelligible.  He 
grew  cooler,  and  showed  me  that  the  butcher  had  taken 
a  fancy  to  a  stone  hatchet  lying  in  his  house  ;  this  he  offered 
to  purchase  for  a  nail ;  his  wife  who  was  there,  refused  to 
part  with  it,  upon  which  he  took  it  up  and,  throwing  down 
the  nail,  threatened  to  cut  her  throat  if  she  attempted  to 
hinder  him.  In  evidence  of  this  the  hatchet  and  nail  were 
produced,  and  the  butcher  had  so  little  to  say  in  his  defence 
that  no  one  doubted  of  his  guilt ;  after  this  we  parted  and 
he  appeared  satisfied,  but  did  not  forget  to  put  me  in 
mind  of  my  promise  that  the  butcher  should  to-morrow  be 
punished. 

This  day  we  found  that  our  friends  had  names,  and  they 
were  not  a  little  pleased  to  discover  that  we  had  them 
likewise.  For  the  future  Lycurgus  will  be  called  Tubourai 
Tamaide,  his  wife  Tamio,  and  the  three  women  who  commonly 
came  with  him,  Terapo,  Teraro,  and  Omie.  As  for  our 
names,  they  make  so  poor  a  hand  at  pronouncing  them  that 
I  fear  we  shall  each  be  obliged  to  take  a  new  one  for 
the  occasion. 

After  breakfast  Jno.  Molineux  came  ashore,  and  the 
moment  he  entered  the  tent,  fixed  his  eyes  upon  a  woman 
who  was  sitting  there,  and  declared  that  she  had  been  the 
queen  when  the  Dolphin  was  here.  She  also  instantly  acknow- 
ledged him  as  a  person  whom  she  had  seen  before.  Our 
attention  was  now  entirely  diverted  from  every  other  object 
to  the  examination  of  a  personage  we  had  heard  of  so  much 
of  in  Europe  ;  she  appeared  to  be  about  forty,  tall,  and  very 
lusty,  her  skin  white  and  her  eyes  full  of  meaning;  she 
might  have  been  handsome  when  young,  but  now  few  or  no 
traces  of  it  were  left. 

As  soon  as  her  Majesty's  quality  was  known  to  us,  she 
was  invited  to  go  on  board  the  ship,  where  no  presents  were 
spared  that  were  thought  to  be  agreeable  to  her  in  consider- 
ation of  her  services  to  the  Dolphin.  Among  other  things 
a  child's  doll  was  given  to  her,  of  which  she  seemed  very 


APR.  1769  THE  DOLPHINS  QUEEN  85 

fond ;  on  her  landing  she  met  Hercules  (whom  for  the  future 
I  shall  call  by  his  real  name  Dootahah),  and  showed  him  her 
presents.  He  became  uneasy,  and  was  not  satisfied  till  he 
also  had  got  a  doll,  which  he  now  seemed  to  prefer  to  a 
hatchet ;  after  this,  however,  dolls  were  of  no  value. 

29th.  My  first  business  this  morning  was  to  see  that  the 
butcher  was  punished,  as  I  promised  Tubourai  and  Tamio, 
and  of  which  they  had  not  failed  to  remind  me  yesterday, 
when  the  crowd  of  people  who  were  with  us  had  prevented 
its  being  carried  out.  I  took  them  on  board  the  ship, 
where  Captain  Cook  immediately  ordered  the  offender  to  be 
punished ;  they  stood  quietly  and  saw  him  stripped  and 
fastened  to  the  rigging,  but  as  soon  as  the  first  blow  was 
given,  interfered  with  many  tears,  begging  that  the  punish- 
ment might  cease,  a  request  which  the  captain  would  not 
comply  with. 

At  night  I  visited  Tubourai,  as  I  often  did  by  candle- 
light, and  found  him  and  all  his  family  in  a  most  melancholy 
mood;  most  of  them  shed  tears,  so  that  I  soon  left  them 
without  being  at  all  able  to  find  out  the  cause  of  their  grief. 
An  old  man  had  prophesied  to  some  of  our  people  that  in 
four  days  we  should  fire  our  guns  ;  this  was  the  fourth  night, 
and  the  circumstance  of  Tubourai  crying  over  me,  as  we 
interpreted  it,  alarmed  our  officers  a  good  deal ;  the  sentries 
are  therefore  doubled,  and  we  sleep  to-night  under  arms. 

SQth.  A  very  strict  watch  was  kept  last  night,  as 
intended,  and  at  two  in  the  morning  I  myself  went  round 
the  point,  finding  everything  perfectly  quiet.  Our  little 
fortification  is  now  complete  ;  it  consists  of  high  breastworks 
at  each  end ;  the  front  palisades  and  the  rear  guarded  by 
the  river,  on  the  bank  of  which  we  placed  casks  full  of 
water  :  at  every  angle  is  mounted  a  swivel,  and  two  carriage- 
guns  pointed  in  the  two  directions  by  which  the  Indians 
might  attack  us  out  of  the  woods.  Our  sentries  are  also 
as  well  relieved  as  they  could  be  in  the  most  regular 
fortification. 

About  ten,  Tamio  came  running  to  the  tents ;  she  seized 
my  hand  and  told  me  that  Tubourai  was  dying,  and  that  I 


86  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

must  go  instantly  with  her  to  his  house.  I  went  and  found 
him  leaning  his  head  against  a  post.  He  had  vomited,  they 
said,  and  he  told  me  he  should  certainly  die  in  consequence 
of  something  our  people  had  given  him  to  eat,  the  remains 
of  which  were  shown  me  carefully  wrapped  up  in  a  leaf. 
This  upon  examination  I  found  to  be  a  chew  of  tobacco 
which  he  had  begged  of  some  of  our  people,  and  trying  to 
imitate  them  in  keeping  it  in  his  mouth,  as  he  saw  them 
do,  had  chewed  it  almost  to  powder,  swallowing  his  spittle. 
I  was  now  master  of  his  disease,  for  which  I  prescribed 
cocoanut  milk,  which  soon  restored  him  to  health. 

1st  May.  In  walking  round  the  point,  I  saw  a  canoe 
which  I  supposed  to  have  come  from  a  distance,  as  she  had 
a  quantity  of  fresh  water  in  her  in  bamboos.  In  every 
other  respect  she  is  quite  like  those  we  have  seen ;  her 
people,  however,  are  absolute  strangers  to  us. 

2nd.  This  morning  the  astronomical  quadrant,  which  had 
been  brought  ashore  yesterday,  was  missed,  a  circumstance 
which  alarmed  us  all  very  much.  After  some  time,  we  ascer- 
tained from  Tubourai  that  it  was  in  the  hands  of  an  Indian  ; 
so  we  set  out  together.  At  every  house  we  passed  Tubourai 
inquired  after  the  thief  by  name,  and  the  people  readily 
told  which  way  he  had  gone,  and  how  long  ago  it  was  since 
he  passed  by,  a  circumstance  which  gave  us  great  hopes 
of  coming  up  with  him.  The  weather  was  excessively 
hot,  the  thermometer  before  we  left  the  tents  was  91°, 
which  made  our  journey  very  tiresome.  At  times  we  walked, 
at  times  we  ran,  when  we  imagined  (as  we  sometimes  did) 
that  the  chase  was  just  before  us,  till  we  arrived  at  the  top 
of  a  hill  about  four  miles  from  the  tents :  from  this  place 
Tubourai  showed  us  a  point  about  three  miles  off,  and 
made  us  understand  that  we  were  not  to  expect  the  instru- 
ment till  we  got  there.  We  now  considered  our  situation : 
no  arms  among  us  but  a  pair  of  pocket-pistols,  which  I 
always  carried,  going  at  least  seven  miles  from  our  fort, 
where  the  Indians  might  not  be  quite  so  submissive  as  at 
home,  going  also  to  take  from  them  a  prize  for  which  they 
had  ventured  their  lives ;  all  this  considered,  we  thought  it 


MAY  1769  A  QUADRANT  STOLEN  87 

proper  that  while  Mr.  Green  and  myself  proceeded,  the 
midshipman  should  return,  and  desire  Captain  Cook  to  send 
a  party  of  men  after  us,  telling  him  at  the  same  time  that 
it  was  impossible  that  we  could  return  till  night.  This 
done  we  proceeded,  and  at  the  very  spot  Tubourai  had 
mentioned,  were  met  by  one  of  his  people  bringing  part  of 
the  quadrant  in  his  hand:  we  now  stopped,  and  many 
Indians  gathered  about  us  rather  rudely ;  the  sight  of  one  of 
my  pistols,  however,  instantly  checked  them,  and  they 
behaved  with  all  the  order  imaginable,  though  we  quickly 
had  some  hundreds  surrounding  a  ring  we  had  marked  out 
on  the  grass.  The  box  was  now  brought  to  us,  and  some  of 
the  small  matters  such  as  reading  glasses,  etc.,  which  in 
their  hurry  they  had  put  into  a  pistol-case.  This  I  knew 
belonged  to  me ;  it  had  been  stolen  from  the  tents  with  a 
horse-pistol  in  it,  which  I  immediately  demanded,  and  had 
immediately  restored.  Mr.  Green  began  to  overlook  the 
instrument  to  see  if  any  part,  or  parts,  were  wanting ;  several 
small  things  were,  and  people  were  sent  out  in  search  of 
them,  some  of  whom  returned,  and  others  did  not :  the  stand 
was  not  there,  but  that,  we  were  informed,  had  been  left 
behind  by  the  thief,  and  we  should  have  it  on  our  return,  an 
answer  which,  coming  from  Tubourai,  satisfied  us.  Nothing 
else  was  wanting  but  what  could  easily  be  repaired,  so  we 
packed  up  all  in  grass  as  well  as  we  could,  and  proceeded 
homewards.  After  walking  about  two  miles  we  met  Captain 
Cook  with  a  party  of  marines  coming  after  us,  all  not  a 
little  pleased  at  the  event  of  our  excursion. 

The  captain  on  leaving  the  tents  left  orders,  both  for 
the  ship  and  shore,  that  no  canoes  should  be  suffered  to  go 
out  of  the  bay,  but  that  nobody's  person  should  be  seized  or 
detained,  as  we  rightly  guessed  that  none  of  our  friends  had 
any  hand  in  the  theft.  These  orders  were  obeyed  by  the 
first  lieutenant,  who  was  ashore ;  but  the  second  aboard, 
seeing  some  canoes  going  along  shore,  sent  a  boat  to  fetch 
them  back.  The  boatswain  commanding  it  did  so,  and  with 
them  brought  Dootahah ;  the  rest  of  the  crew  leaped  over- 
board. Dootahah  was  sent  ashore  prisoner ;  the  first 


88  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

lieutenant  of  course  could  not  do  less  than  confine  him,  to 
the  infinite  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians.  This  we  heard 
from  them  two  miles  before  we  reached  the  tents.  On  our 
return  Tubourai,  Tamio,  and  every  Indian  that  we  let  in, 
joined  in  lamenting  over  Dootahah  with  many  tears.  I 
arrived  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the  captain,  during 
which  time  this  scene  lasted.  As  soon  as  he  came  he 
ordered  him  to  be  instantly  set  at  liberty,  which  done  he 
walked  off  sulkily  enough,  though  at  his  departure  he 
presented  us  with  a  pig. 

3rd.  No  kind  of  provisions  brought  to  market  to-day. 

5th.  At  breakfast  -  time  two  messengers  came  from 
Dootahah  to  remind  the  captain  of  his  promise  [given  yester- 
day] to  visit  him  ;  accordingly  the  boat  set  out,  carrying  the 
captain,  Dr.  Solander,  and  myself.  We  arrived  in  about  an 
hour,  JZparre,  his  residence,  being  about  four  miles  from  the 
tents.  An  immense  throng  of  people  met  us  on  the  shore, 
crowding  us  very  much,  though  they  were  severely  beaten  for 
so  doing  by  a  tall  good-looking  man,  who  laid  about  him  most 
unmercifully  with  a  long  stick,  striking  all  who  did  not  get 
out  of  his  way  without  intermission,  till  he  had  cleared  for 
us  a  path  to  Dootahah,  who  was  seated  under  a  tree,  attended 
by  a  few  grave-looking  old  men.  With  him  we  sat  down, 
and  made  our  presents,  consisting  of  an  axe  and  a  gown  of 
broadcloth  made  after  their  fashion,  and  trimmed  with 
tape  ;  with  these  he  seemed  mightily  satisfied.  Soon  after 
this  Oborea  [the  queen]  joined  us,  and  with  her  I  retired  to 
an  adjacent  house  where  I  could  be  free  from  the  suffocating 
heat,  occasioned  by  so  large  a  crowd  of  people  as  was 
gathered  about  us.  Here  was  prepared  for  our  diversion  an 
entertainment  quite  new  to  us,  a  wrestling  match,  at  which 
the  other  gentlemen  soon  joined  us.  A  large  courtyard 
railed  round  with  bamboo  about  three  feet  high  was  the 
scene  of  the  diversion ;  at  one  end  of  this  Dootahah  was 
seated,  and  near  him  were  seats  for  us,  but  we  rather  chose 
to  range  at  large  among  the  spectators,  than  confine  our- 
selves to  any  particular  spot. 

The  diversion  began  by  the  combatants,  some  of  them 


MAYi;69  WRESTLING  89 

at  least,  walking  round  the  yard  with  a  slow  and  grave 
pace,  every  now  and  then  striking  their  left  arms  very  hard, 
by  which  they  caused  a  deep  and  very  loud  noise,  and  which 
it  seems  was  a  challenge  to  each  other,  or  to  any  one  of  the 
company  who  chose  to  engage  in  the  exercise.  Within  the 
house  stood  the  old  men  ready  to  applaud  the  victor,  and 
some  few  women  who  seemed  to  be  here  out  of  compliment 
to  us,  as  much  the  larger  number  absented  themselves  upon 
the  occasion. 

The  general  challenge  being  given  as  above,  the  par- 
ticular soon  followed  it,  any  man  singling  out  his  antagonist 
by  joining  the  finger-ends  of  both  hands  level  with  the 
breast,  and  moving  the  elbows  up  and  down ;  if  this  was 
accepted,  the  challenged  immediately  returned  the  signal, 
and  both  instantly  put  themselves  in  an  attitude  to  engage. 
This  they  very  soon  did,  striving  to  seize  each  other  by  the 
hands,  hair,  or  the  cloth  round  the  waist,  for  they  had  no 
other  dress.  They  then  attempted  to  seize  each  other  by 
the  thigh,  which  commonly  decided  the  contest,  by  the  fall 
of  him  who  was  thus  taken  at  a  disadvantage ;  if  this  was 
not  soon  done,  they  always  parted  either  by  consent,  or 
their  friends  interfered  in  less  than  a  minute,  in  which  case 
both  began  to  clap  their  arms,  and  seek  anew  for  an 
antagonist,  either  in  each  other  or  some  one  else.  When 
any  one  fell,  the  whole  amusement  ceased  for  a  few 
moments,  while  the  old  men  in  the  house  gave  their  applause 
in  a  few  words  which  they  repeated  together  in  a  kind  of 
tune.  This  lasted  about  two  hours,  during  all  which  time  the 
man  whom  we  observed  at  our  first  landing  continued  to  beat 
the  people  who  did  not  keep  at  a  proper  distance ;  we 
understood  that  he  was  some  officer  belonging  to  Dootahah, 
and  was  called  his  Tomite. 

The  wrestling  over,  the  gentlemen  informed  me  that 
they  understood  that  two  hogs  and  a  large  quantity  of 
bread-fruit,  etc.,  were  cooking  for  our  dinner ;  news  which 
pleased  me  very  well,  as  I  was  by  this  time  sufficiently 
prepared  for  the  repast.  I  went  out  and  saw  the  ovens  in 
which  they  were  buried ;  these  the  Indians  readily  showed 


90  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

me,  telling  me  at  the  same  time  that  they  would  soon  be 
ready,  and  how  good  a  dinner  we  should  have.  In  about 
half  an  hour  all  was  taken  up,  but  Dootahah  began  to 
repent  of  his  intended  generosity  (he  thought,- 1  suppose, 
that  a  hog  would  be  looked  upon  as  no  more  than  a  dinner, 
and  consequently  no  present  made  in  return) ;  he  therefore 
changed  his  mind,  and  ordering  one  of  the  pigs  into  the 
boat,  sent  for  us,  who  soon  collected  together,  and  getting 
our  knives  prepared  to  fall  to,  saying  that  it  was  civil  of 
the  old  gentleman  to  bring  the  provisions  into  the  boat, 
where  we  could  with  ease  keep  the  people  at  a  proper  dis- 
tance. His  intention  was,  however,  very  different  from 
ours,  for  instead  of  asking  us  to  eat,  he  asked  to  go  on 
board  of  the  ship,  a  measure  we  were  forced  to  comply 
with,  and  row  four  miles  with  the  pig  growing  cold  under 
our  noses  before  he  would  give  it  to  us.  On  board,  how- 
ever, we  dined  upon  this  same  pig,  and  his  Majesty  ate  very 
heartily  with  us.  After  dinner  we  went  ashore.  The  sight 
of  Dootahah  reconciled  to  us  acted  like  a  charm  upon  the 
people,  and  before  night,  bread-fruit  and  cocoanuts  were 
brought  for  sale  in  tolerable  quantity. 

10  fh.  This  morning  Captain  Cook  planted  divers  seeds 
which  he  had  brought  with  him  in  a  spot  of  ground  turned 
up  for  the  purpose ;  they  were  all  bought  of  Gordon  at  Mile 
End,  and  sent  in  bottles  sealed  up.  Whether  or  no  that 
method  will  succeed,  the  event  of  this  plantation  will 
show. 

We  have  now  got  the  Indian  name  of  this  island, 
Otahite,  so  therefore  for  the  future  I  shall  call  it.  As  for 
our  own  names  the  Indians  find  so  much  difficulty  in  pro- 
nouncing them  that  we  are  forced  to  indulge  them  in  calling 
us  what  they  please,  or  rather  what  they  say  when  they 
attempt  to  pronounce  them.  I  give  here  the  list :  Captain 
Cook  is  Toote,  Dr.  Solander  Torano,  Mr.  Hicks  Hete,  Mr. 
Gore  Toarro,  Mr.  Molineux  Boba  (from  his  Christian  name 
Eobert),  Mr.  Monkhouse  Mato,  I  myself  Tapane.  In  this 
manner  they  have  names  for  almost  every  man  in  the  ship. 

llth.   Cocoanuts   were  brought  down  so  plentifully  this 


MAY  1769      NATIVE  NAMES  FOR  THE  EUROPEANS          91 

morning  that  by  half-past  six  I  had  bought  350.  This  made 
it  necessary  to  lower  the  price  of  them,  lest  so  many  being 
brought  at  once  we  should  exhaust  the  country,  and  want 
hereafter  ;  notwithstanding  which  I  had  before  night  bought 
more  than  a  thousand  at  the  rate  of  six  for  an  amber-coloured 
bead,  ten  for  a  white  one,  and  twenty  for  a  fortypenny  nail. 
13th.  Going  on  shore  I  met  Tubourai  near  his  house. 
I  stopped  with  him;  he  took  my  gun  out  of  my  hand, 
cocked  it,  and  holding  it  up  in  the  air,  drew  the  trigger. 
Fortunately  for  him  it  flashed  in  the  pan.  Where  he  had 
obtained  so  much  knowledge  of  the  use  of  a  gun  I  could 
not  conceive,  but  I  was  sufficiently  angry  that  he  should 
attempt  to  exercise  it  upon  mine,  as  I  had  upon  all  occa- 
sions taught  him  and  the  rest  of  the  Indians  that  they 
could  not  offend  me  more  than  by  merely  touching  it.  I 
scolded  him  severely,  and  even  threatened  to  shoot  him. 
He  bore  all  patiently,  but  the  moment  I  had  crossed  the 
river  he  and  his  family  moved  bag  and  baggage  to  their 
other  house  at  Eparre.  This  step  was  no  sooner  taken 
than  I  was  informed  of  it  by  the  Indians  about  the  fort. 
Not  willing  to  lose  the  assistance  of  a  man  who  had  upon 
all  occasions  been  particularly  useful  to  us,  I  resolved  to  go 
this  evening  and  bring  him  back.  Accordingly  as  soon  as 
dinner  was  over  I  set  out,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Molineux. 
We  found  him  sitting  among  a  large  circle  of  people,  him- 
self and  many  of  the  rest  with  most  melancholy  countenances, 
some  in  tears.  One  old  woman  on  our  coming  into  the 
circle  struck  a  shark's  tooth  into  her  head  several  times  till 
it  foamed  with  blood,  but  her  head  seemed  to  have  been  so 
often  exercised  with  this  expression  of  grief  that  it  had 
become  quite  callous,  for  though  the  crown  of  it  was  covered 
with  blood,  enough  did  not  issue  from  the  wounds  to  run 
upon  her  cheeks.  After  some  few  assurances  of  forgive- 
ness Tubourai  agreed  to  return  with  us,  in  consequence  of 
which  resolution  a  double  canoe  was  put  off,  in  which  we 
all  returned  to  the  tents  before  supper-time,  and  as  a 
token  of  renewal  of  friendship  both  he  and  his  wife  slept 
in  my  tent  all  night. 


92  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 


Our  friends  Dootahah,  Oborea,  Otheothea,  etc.,  at  the 
tents  this  morning  as  usual.  It  being  Sunday,  Captain 
Cook  proposed  that  divine  service  should  be  celebrated,  but 
before  the  time  most  of  our  Indian  friends  had  gone  home 
to  eat.  I  was  resolved,  however,  that  some  should  be 
present  that  they  might  see  our  behaviour,  and  we  might 
if  possible  explain  to  them  (in  some  degree  at  least)  the 
reasons  of  it.  I  went,  therefore,  over  the  river,  and 
brought  back  Tubourai  and  Tamio,  and  having  seated  them 
in  the  tent,  placed  myself  between  them.  During  the 
whole  service  they  imitated  my  motions,  standing,  sitting, 
or  kneeling  as  they  saw  me  do  ;  and  so  much  understood 
that  we  were  about  something  very  serious,  that  they  called 
to  the  Indians  without  the  fort  to  be  silent.  Notwith- 
standing this  they  did  not,  when  the  service  was  over,  ask 
any  questions,  nor  would  they  attend  at  all  to  any  explana- 
tion we  attempted  to  give  them.  We  have  not  yet  seen 
the  least  traces  of  religion  among  these  people,  maybe  they 
are  entirely  without  it. 

15th.  In  the  course  of  last  night  one  of  the  Indians 
was  clever  enough  to  steal  an  iron-bound  cask.  It  was 
indeed  without  the  fort,  but  so  immediately  under  the  eye 
of  the  sentry  that  we  could  hardly  believe  the  possibility 
of  such  a  thing  having  happened.  The  Indians,  however, 
acknowledged  it,  and  seemed  inclined  to  give  intelligence, 
in  consequence  of  which  I  set  off  in  pursuit  of  it,  and 
traced  it  to  a  part  of  the  bay  where  they  told  me  it  had 
been  put  into  a  canoe.  It  was  not  of  sufficient  consequence 
to  pursue  with  any  great  spirit,  so  I  returned  home.  At 
night  Tubourai  made  many  signs  that  another  cask  would 
be  stolen  before  morning  ;  and  thinking,  I  suppose,  that  we 
did  not  sufficiently  regard  them,  came  with  his  wife  and 
family  to  the  place  where  the  cask  lay,  and  said  that  they 
themselves  would  take  care  that  no  one  should  steal  them. 
On  being  told  this  I  went  to  them,  and  explaining  to  them 
that  a  sentry  was  this  night  put  over  these  particular  casks, 
they  agreed  to  come  and  sleep  in  my  tent,  but  insisted  on 
leaving  a  servant  to  assist  the  sentry  in  case  the  thief  came, 


MAY  1769  SURF-SWIMMING 


93 


which  he  did  about  midnight.  He  was  seen  by  the  sentry, 
who  fired  at  him,  on  which  he  retreated  most  expedi- 
tiously. 

18th.  The  apples1  now  begin  to  be  ripe,  and  are  brought 
in  large  quantities  very  cheap;  so  that  apple-pies  are  a 
standing  dish  with  us. 

29th.  We  saw  the  Indians  amuse  or  exercise  themselves 
in  a  manner  truly  surprising.  It  was  in  a  place  where 
the  shore  was  not  guarded  by  a  reef,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
consequently  a  high  surf  fell  upon  the  shore,  and  a  more 
dreadful  one  I  have  not  often  seen ;  no  European  boat  could 
have  landed  in  it,  and  I  think  no  European  who  had  by 
any  means  got  into  it  could  possibly  have  saved  his  life,  as 
the  shore  was  covered  with  pebbles  and  large  stones.  In 
the  midst  of  these  breakers  ten  or  twelve  Indians  were 
swimming.  Whenever  a  surf  broke  near  them  they  dived 
under  it  with  infinite  ease,  rising  up  on  the  other  side ; 
but  their  chief  amusement  was  being  carried  on  by  an  old 
canoe ;  with  this  before  them  they  swam  out  as  far  as  the 
outermost  beach,  then  one  or  two  would  get  into  it,  and 
opposing  the  blunt  end  to  the  breaking  wave,  were  hurried 
in  with  incredible  swiftness.  Sometimes  they  were  carried 
almost  ashore,  but  generally  the  wave  broke  over  them 
before  they  were  half-way,  in  which  case  they  dived  and 
quickly  rose  on  the  other  side  with  the  canoe  in  their  hands. 
It  was  then  towed  out  again,  and  the  same  method  repeated. 
We  stood  admiring  this  very  wonderful  scene  for  fully  half 
an  hour,  in  which  time  no  one  of  the  actors  attempted  to 
come  ashore,  but  all  seemed  most  highly  entertained  with 
their  strange  diversion. 

30th.  Carpenters  employed  to-day  in  repairing  the  long- 
boat, which  is  eaten  in  a  most  wonderful  manner  ;  every 
part  of  her  bottom  is  like  a  honey-comb,  some  of  the  holes 
being  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  such  progress  has 
this  destructive  insect  made  in  six  weeks. 

31st.  The  day  of  observation  now  approaches.  The 
weather  has  for  some  days  been  fine,  though  in  general, 

1  Spondias  dulcis,  Forst. 


94  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

since  we  have  been  upon  the  island,  we  have  had  as  much 
cloudy  as  clear  weather,  which  makes  us  all  not  a  little 
anxious  for  the  success.  In  consequence  of  hints  from 
Lord  Morton,  the  captain  resolved  to  send  a  party  to  the 
eastward  and  another  to  Imao,  an  island  in  sight  of  us, 
thinking  that  in  case  of  thick  weather  one  or  the  other 
might  be  more  successful  than  those  at  the  observatory.  I 
resolve  to  go  on  the  Imao  expedition. 

1st  June.  The  boat  was  not  ready  until  after  dinner, 
when  we  set  out :  we  rowed  most  of  the  night,  and  came 
to  a  grappling  just  under  the  island  of  Imao. 

2nd.  Soon  after  daybreak  we  saw  an  Indian  canoe,  and 
upon  hailing  her  she  showed  us  an  inlet  through  the  reef 
into  which  we  pulled,  and  soon  fixed  upon  a  coral  rock 
about  150  yards  from  the  shore  as  a  very  proper  situation 
for  our  observatory.  It  was  about  eighty  yards  long  and 
twenty  broad,  and  had  in  the  middle  a  patch  of  white  sand 
large  enough  for  our  tents.  The  second  lieutenant  and 
people  therefore  immediately  set  about  fixing  them,  while 
I  went  upon  the  main  island  to  trade  with  the  inhabitants 
for  provisions,  of  which  I  soon  bought  a  sufficient  supply. 
Before  night  our  observatory  was  in  order,  the  telescopes 
all  set  up,  and  tried,  etc.,  and  we  went  to  bed  anxious  for  the 
events  of  to-morrow.  The  evening  having  been  very  fine 
gave  us  great  hopes  of  success. 

3rd.  Various  were  the  changes  observed  in  the  weather 
during  the  course  of  last  night ;  some  one  or  other  of  us 
was  up  every  half-hour,  and  constantly  informed  the  rest 
that  it  was  either  clear  or  hazy.  At  daybreak  we  rose,  and 
soon  after  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  sun  rise  as  clear 
and  bright  as  we  could  wish.  I  then  wished  success  to  the 
observers,  Messrs.  Gore  and  Monkhouse,  and  repaired  to  the 
island,  where  I  could  do  the  double  service  of  examining  the 
natural  produce  and  buying  provision  for  my  companions 
who  were  engaged  in  so  useful  a  work.  Tarroa,  the  king 
of  the  island,  came  to  pay  me  a  visit.  After  the  first 
internal  contact  was  over,  I  went  back  to  the  observatory, 
carrying  with  me  Tarroa,  his  sister  Nuna,  and  some  of  their 


JUNE  1769  THE  TRANSIT  OF  VENUS 


95 


chief  attendants ;  we  showed  them  the  planet  upon  the  sun, 
and  made  them  understand  that  we  had  come  on  purpose 
to  see  it.  I  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  examining  the 
produce  of  the  island,  and  found  it  very  nearly  similar  to 
that  of  Otahite.  The  people,  indeed,  were  exactly  the 
same.  Many  of  them  we  had  often  seen  at  Otahite,  and 
every  one  knew  well  what  kind  of  trade  we  had  and  the 
value  it  bore  in  that  island.  The  hills  in  general  came 
nearer  to  the  water,  and  the  plains  were  consequently 
smaller  and  less  fertile  than  in  Otahite.  The  low  point 
near  which  we  lay  was  composed  entirely  of  sand  and  coral ; 
here  neither  bread-fruit  nor  any  other  useful  vegetables 
would  grow ;  the  land  was  covered  with  Pandanus  sectorius, 
with  which  grew  several  plants  we  had  not  seen  at  Otahite. 
Among  them  was  lleris}  which  Mr.  Gore  tells  me  is  the 
plant  called  by  the  voyagers  scurvy  grass,  and  which  grows 
plentifully  upon  all  the  low  islands. 

4:th.  What  with  presents  and  trade  our  stock  of  provi- 
sions was  so  large  that  we  were  obliged  to  give  away  a  large 
quantity ;  this  done  we  put  off,  and  before  night  arrived  at 
the  tents,  where  we  had  the  great  satisfaction  to  find  that  the 
observation  there  had  been  attended  with  as  much  success 
as  Mr.  Green  and  the  captain  could  wish,  the  day  having 
been  perfectly  clear,  without  so  much  as  a  cloud  interven- 
ing. We  also  heard  the  melancholy  news  that  a  large  part 
of  our  stock  of  nails  had  been  purloined  by  some  of  the 
ship's  company  during  the  time  of  the  observation,  when 
everybody  who  had  any  degree  of  command  was  ashore. 
One  of  the  thieves  was  detected,  but  only  seven  nails  out  of 
one  hundredweight  were  found  upon  him,  and  he  bore  his 
punishment  without  impeaching  any  of  his  accomplices. 
This  loss  is  of  a  very  serious  nature,  as  these  nails,  if  circu- 
lated by  the  people  among  the  Indians,  will  greatly  lessen 
the  value  of  iron,  our  staple  commodity. 

5th.  During  our  absence  at  Imao  an  old  woman  of  some 
consequence  died,  and  was  placed  not  far  from  the  fort  to 
rot  above  ground,  as  is  the  custom  of  the  island.  I  went 

1  Lepidium  piscidium,  Forst. 


96  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

this  morning  to  see  her.  A  small  square  was  neatly  railed 
in  with  bamboo,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  a  canoe  awning  set 
up  upon  two  posts ;  in  this  the  body  was  laid,  covered  with 
fine  cloth.  Near  this  was  laid  fish,  meat,  etc.  for  the  gods, 
not  for  the  deceased,  but  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  the  deities 
lest  they  should  eat  the  body,  which  Tubourai  told  us  they 
would  certainly  do,  if  this  ceremony  were  neglected.  In 
the  front  of  the  square  was  a  kind  of  stile,  or  place  lower 
than  the  rest,  where  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  stood 
when  they  cried  or  bled  themselves.  Under  the  awning 
were  numberless  rags  containing  the  blood  and  tears  they 
had  shed.  Within  a  few  yards  were  two  occasional  houses ; 
in  one  of  them  some  of  the  relations,  generally  a  good 
many,  constantly  remained ;  in  the  other  the  chief  male 
mourner  resided,  and  kept  a  very  remarkable  dress  in 
which  he  performed  a  ceremony.  Both  dress  and  ceremony 
I  shall  describe  when  I  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  it  in 
perfection,  which  Tubourai  promises  me  I  shall  soon  have. 

This  day  we  kept  the  King's  birthday,  which  had  been 
delayed  on  account  of  the  absence  of  the  two  observing 
parties.  Several  of  the  Indians  dined  with  us  and  drank 
his  Majesty's  health  by  the  name  of  Kilnargo,  for  we  could 
not  teach  them  to  pronounce  a  word  more  like  King  George. 
Tupia  (Oborea's  right-hand  man,  who  was  with  her  when 
the  Dolphin  was  here),  to  show  his  loyalty,  got  most 
enormously  drunk. 

6th.  In  walking  into  the  woods  yesterday,  I  saw  in  the 
hands  of  an  Indian  an  iron  tool,  made  in  the  shape  of  the 
Indian  adzes,  but  very  different,  I  am  sure,  from  anything 
that  had  been  carried  out  or  made  either  by  the  Dolphin  or 
this  ship.  This  excited  my  curiosity,  the  more  so  as  I 
was  told  that  it  did  not  come  out  of  either  of  those  ships, 
but  from  two  others  which  came  here  together.  This  was 
a  discovery  not  to  be  neglected.  With  much  difficulty 
and  labour  I  at  last  got  the  following  account  of  them,  viz. 
that  in  their  month  of  Pepare  (which  answers  to  our  January 
1*768),  two  Spanish  ships  came  here,  commanded  by  a  man 
whom  they  called  To  Otterah  ;  that  they  lay  eight  days  in  a 


JUNE  1769         EARLIER  VISIT  OF  EUROPEANS  97 

bay  called  Hiclea,  some  leagues  to  the  eastward  of  Matavie, 
where  our  ship  now  lies ;  that  during  their  stay  they  sent 
tents  ashore,  and  some  slept  in  them  ;  that  they  were  chiefly 
connected  with  a  chief  whose  name  was  Orette,  and  whose 
younger  brother  they  carried  away  with  them,  promising  to 
return  in  nine  months ;  that  they  had  on  board  their  ships 
a  woman ;  and  that  on  their  departure  they  stood  to  the 
westward  as  long  as  they  were  seen  from  the  island.  I 
was  very  particular  in  these  inquiries,  as  the  knowledge  got 
by  them  may  be  of  some  consequence.  The  methods  by 
which  I  gained  this  account  would  be  much  too  tedious  to 
mention.  One  of  my  greatest  difficulties  was  to  determine 
the  nationality  of  the  ships :  for  this  purpose  I  pointed  to 
our  colours  and  asked  whether  the  two  ships  had  the  same 
or  not.  "  No,"  was  the  answer,  when  the  question  was 
thoroughly  understood.  I  then  opened  a  large  sheet  of 
flags,  and  asked  which  of  them  they  had.  Tubourai  looked 
steadfastly  over  them,  and  at  last  pitched  upon  the  Spanish 
ensign,  and  to  that  he  adhered,  although  we  tried  him  over 
and  over  again.1 

9th.  Yesterday  and  to-day  the  Heiva  no  Metua,  or  chief 
mourner,  walked.  My  curiosity  was  raised  by  his  most 
singular  dress,  and  being  desirous  of  knowing  what  he  did 
during  his  walk,  I  asked  Tubourai,  at  the  same  time  desiring 
leave  to  attend  him  to-morrow,  which  was  readily  granted 
upon  my  consenting  to  act  a  character. 

Bread-fruit  has  for  some  time  been  scarce  with  us ; 
about  ten  days  ago,  when  there  had  been  a  great  show  of 
fruit,  the  trees  were  thinned  all  at  once,  and  every  one  was 
employed  in  making  mahie  for  about  a  week.  Where  the 
bread-fruit  we  now  have  comes  from  we  cannot  tell,  but  we 
have  more  than  the  woods  around  us  can  supply  us  with ; 
probably  our  consumption  has  thinned  the  trees  in  this 
neighbourhood,  as  the  Dolphin,  which  came  here  about  this 
time,  found  great  plenty  during  the  whole  of  her  stay.  If 
this  is  the  case,  what  we  now  get  may  be  brought  from 

1  As  will    appear   later    (see    p.    370),    the    ships   were    French,   under 
Bougainville. 

H 


98  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

some  neighbouring  place,  where  the  trees  are  not  yet 
exhausted. 

10th.  This  evening,  according  to  my  yesterday's  engage- 
ment, I  went  to  the  place  where  the  Metua  lay ;  there  I 
found  Tubourai,  Tamio,  Hoona,  the  Metua1  s  daughter,  and  a 
young  Indian  prepared  to  receive  me.  Tubourai  was  the 
Heiva,  the  three  others  and  myself  were  to  be  Nineveh. 
Tubourai  put  on  his  most  fantastical  though  not  unbecoming 
dress.  I  was  next  prepared  by  stripping  off  my  European 
clothes  and  putting  on  a  small  strip  of  cloth  round  my 
waist,  the  only  garment  I  was  allowed  to  have.  They  then 
began  to  smut  me  and  themselves  with  charcoal  and  water, 
the  Indian  boy  was  completely  black,  the  women  and 
myself  as  low  as  our  shoulders  ;  we  then  set  out.  Tubourai 
began  by  praying  twice,  once  near  the  corpse,  and  again 
near  his  own  house.  We  then  proceeded  towards  the  fort ;  it 
was  necessary,  it  seems,  that  the  procession  should  visit 
that  place,  but  they  dare  not  do  it  without  our  sanction, 
indeed  it  was  not  until  they  had  received  many  assurances 
of  our  consent  that  they  ventured  to  perform  any  part  of 
their  ceremonies. 

To  the  fort  then  we  went,  to  the  surprise  of  our  friends 
and  affright  of  the  Indians  who  were  there,  for  they  every- 
where fly  before  the  Heiva,  like  sheep  before  a  wolf;  we 
soon  left  it  and  proceeded  along  shore  towards  a  place  where 
above  a  hundred  Indians  were  collected  together.  We,  the 
Ninevehs,  had  orders  from  the  Heiva  to  disperse  them ;  we 
ran  towards  them,  but  before  we  came  within  a  hundred 
yards  of  them  they  dispersed  every  way,  running  to  the  first 
shelter  and  hiding  themselves  under  grass  or  whatever  else 
would  conceal  them.  We  now  crossed  the  river  into  the 
woods  and  passed  several  houses,  all  deserted ;  not  another 
Indian  did  we  see  during  the  half -hour  that  we  spent  in 
walking  about.  We  (the  Ninevelis)  then  came  to  the  Heiva 
and  said  imatata  (there  are  no  people),  after  which  we  re- 
paired home ;  the  Heiva  undressed,  and  we  went  into  the 
river  and  scrubbed  one  another  until  it  was  dark,  before  the 
blacking  came  off. 


JUNE  1769  TRAVELLING  MUSICIANS  99 

12t7i.  In  my  morning's  walk  to-day  I  met  a  company  of 
travelling  musicians ;  they  told  me  where  they  should  be  at 
night,  so  after  supper  we  all  repaired  to  the  place.  There 
was  a  large  concourse  of  people  round  the  band,  which  con- 
sisted of  two  flutes  and  three  drums,  the  drummers  ac- 
companying their  music  with  their  voices.  They  sang 
many  songs,  generally  in  praise  of  us,  for  these  gentlemen, 
like  Homer  of  old,  must  be  poets  as  well  as  musicians.  The 
Indians  seeing  us  entertained  with  their  music,  asked  us  to 
sing  them  an  English  song,  which  we  most  readily  agreed 
to,  and  received  much  applause,  so  much  so  that  one  of  the 
musicians  became  desirous  of  going  to  England  to  learn  to 
sing.  These  people,  by  what  we  can  learn,  go  about  from 
house  to  house,  the  master  of  the  house  and  the  audience 
paying  them  for  their  music  in  cloth,  meat,  beads,  or  any- 
thing else  which  the  one  wants  and  the  other  can  spare. 

13th.  Mr.  Monkhouse,  our  surgeon,  met  to-day  with  an 
insult  from  an  Indian,  the  first  that  has  been  met  with  by 
any  of  us ;  he  was  pulling  a  flower  from  a  tree  which  grew 
on  a  burial-ground,  and  was  consequently,  I  suppose,  sacred, 
when  an  Indian  came  behind  him  and  struck  him ;  Mr. 
Monkhouse  caught  and  attempted  to  beat  him,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  two  more,  who,  coming  up,  seized  hold  of  his  hair 
and  rescued  their  companion,  after  which  they  all  ran  away. 

14th.  I  lay  in  the  woods  last  night,  as  I  very  often  do; 
at  daybreak  I  was  called  up  by  Mr.  Gore  and  went  with  him 
shooting.  We  did  not  return  till  night,  when  we  saw  a 
large  number  of  canoes  in  the  river  behind  the  tents.  It 
appears  that  last  night  an  Indian  was  clever  enough  to  steal 
a  coal-rake  out  of  the  fort  without  being  perceived ;  in  the 
morning  it  was  missed,  and  Captain  Cook  being  resolved  to 
recover  it,  and  also  to  discourage  such  attempts  for  the 
future,  went  out  with  a  party  of  men  and  seized  twenty-five 
of  their  large  sailing  canoes  which  had  just  come  in  from 
Tethurva,  a  neighbouring  island,  with  a  supply  of  fish.  The 
coal-rake  was  upon  this  soon  brought  back,  but  Captain 
Cook  thought  he  had  now  an  opportunity  of  recovering  all 
the  things  which  had  been  stolen ;  he  therefore  proclaimed 


ioo  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

to  every  one  that  the  boats  should  not  stir  until  all  the 
things  were  brought  back.  A  list  of  the  articles  was  im- 
mediately drawn  up  and  read  several  times  to  the  Indians, 
who  at  once  promised  that  everything  should  be  returned. 
Great  application  was  made  to  me  on  my  arrival  that  some 
of  the  boats  might  be  released.  I  did  not  until  I  got  to  the 
fort  understand  the  reason  of  their  detention,  but  when  I 
did  nothing  appeared  plainer  than  that  no  one  of  them  should 
on  any  account  be  given  up  from  favour,  but  that  the  whole 
should  be  kept  till  the  things  were  restored — if  ever  they 
were — which  I  much  doubted,  as  the  canoes  did  not  belong 
to  the  people  who  had  the  articles.  I  confess,  that  had  I 
taken  a  step  so  violent,  I  would  have  seized  either  the 
persons  of  the  people  who  had  stolen  from  us  (most  of  whom 
we  either  knew,  or  shrewdly  suspected),  or  at  least  their 
goods,  instead  of  those  of  people  who  were  entirely  uncon- 
cerned in  the  affair,  and  had  not  probably  interest  enough 
with  their  superiors  (to  whom  all  valuable  things  are  carried) 
to  procure  the  restoration  demanded. 

Vlfh.  Mr.  Gore  and  myself  went  to  Eparre  to  shoot 
ducks,  little  thinking  what  the  consequence  of  our  expedi- 
tion would  be  ;  for  before  we  had  half  filled  our  bags  we  had 
frightened  away  Dootahah  and  all  his  household  with  their 
furniture.  It  was  no  small  diversion  to  us  to  find  his 
Majesty  so  much  more  fearful  than  his  ducks. 

20th.  This  morning  early  Oborea  and  some  others  came 
to  the  tents,  bringing  a  large  quantity  of  provisions  as  a 
present,  among  the  rest  a  very  fat  dog.  We  had  lately 
learnt  that  these  animals  were  eaten  by  the  Indians,  and 
esteemed  more  delicate  food  than  pork ;  now  therefore  was 
an  opportunity  of  trying  the  experiment.  The  dog  was  im- 
mediately given  over  to  Tupia,  who,  finding  that  it  was  a 
food  that  we  were  not  accustomed  to,  undertook  to  stand 
butcher  and  cook.  He  killed  the  animal  by  stopping  his 
breath,  holding  his  hands  fast  over  his  mouth  and  nose,  an 
operation  which  took  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour :  he 
then  proceeded  to  dress  him  much  in  the  same  manner  as 
we  would  do  a  pig,  singeing  him  over  the  fire  and  scraping 


JUNE  1769  DOGS  AS  FOOD 


101 


him  clean  with  a  shell.  He  then  opened  him  with  the  same 
instrument,  and  taking  out  his  entrails,  pluck,  etc.,  sent 
them  to  the  sea,  where  they  were  most  carefully  washed  and 
put  into  cocoanut  shells  with  what  blood  he  had  found  in 
him.  The  stones  were  now  laid,  and  the  dog,  well  covered 
with  leaves,  laid  upon  them ;  in  about  two  hours  he  was 
dressed,  and  in  another  quarter  of  an  hour  completely  eaten. 
A  most  excellent  dish  he  made  for  us,  who  were  not  much 
prejudiced  against  any  species  of  food.  I  cannot,  however, 
promise  that  an  European  dog  would  eat  as  well,  as  these  in 
Otahite  scarcely  in  their  lives  touch  animal  food ;  cocoanut 
kernel  and  bread-fruit,  yams,  etc.,  being  what  their  masters 
can  best  afford  to  give  them,  and  what  indeed  from  custom 
I  suppose  they  prefer  to  any  other  food. 

24th.  The  market  has  been  totally  stopped  ever  since 
the  boats  were  seized,  nothing  being  offered  for  sale  but  a 
few  apples ;  our  friends,  however,  are  liberal  in  presents,  so 
that  we  make -shift  to  live  without  expending  our  bread, 
which  last,  and  spirits,  are  our  most  valuable  articles.  Late 
in  the  evening  Tubourai  and  Tamio  returned  from  Eparre, 
bringing  with  them  several  presents,  among  the  rest  a  large 
piece  of  thick  cloth,  which  they  desired  that  I  would  carry 
home  to  my  sister  Opia,  and  for  which  they  would  take  no 
kind  of  return.  They  are  often  very  inquisitive  about  our 
families,  and  remember  anything  that  is  told  them  very 
well. 

2Qth.  At  three  o'clock  this  morning  Captain  Cook  and 
myself  set  out  to  the  eastward  in  the  pinnace,  intending,  if  it 
was  convenient,  to  go  round  the  island.1 

28th.  We  saw  an  English  goose  and  a  turkey-cock, 
which  they  told  us  had  been  left  by  the  Dolphin,  both  of 
them  immensely  fat  and  as  tame  as  possible,  following  the 
Indians  everywhere,  who  seemed  immensely  fond  of  them. 

29th.  We  saw  a  singular  curiosity:  a  figure  of  a  man 
made  of  basket-work,  roughly  but  not  ill  designed.  It  was 

1  The  circumnavigation  of  the  island  presents  few  interesting  features 
beyond  what  was  noticed  on  the  28th  and  29th  ;  any  differences  in  customs 
are  recorded  in  Chapter  VII.  ("General  Account  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  "). 


102  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

seven  feet  high,  and  too  bulky  in  proportion  to  its  height ; 
the  whole  was  neatly  covered  with  feathers — white  to  re- 
present skin,  and  black  to  represent  hair,  and  tallow  on  the 
head,  where  were  three  protuberances  which  we  should  have 
called  horns,  but  the  Indians  called  them  tata  ete  (little 
men).  The  image  was  called  by  them  Manne.  They  said 
it  was  the  only  one  of  the  kind  in  Otahite,  and  readily 
attempted  to  explain  its  use,  but  their  language  was  totally 
unintelligible,  and  seemed  to  refer  to  some  customs  to  which 
we  are  perfect  strangers.  Several  miles  farther  on  we  went 
ashore  again,  though  we  saw  nothing  remarkable  but  a 
bury  ing-ground,  whose  pavement  was  unusually  neat.  It 
was  ornamented  by  a  pyramid  about  five  feet  high,  covered 
entirely  with  the  fruits  of  Pandanus  odorus  and  Cratceva 
gynandra.  In  the  middle,  near  the  pyramid,  was  a  small 
image  of  stone  very  roughly  worked,  the  first  instance  of 
carving  in  stone  that  I  have  seen  among  these  people.  This 
they  seemed  to  value,  as  it  was  protected  from  the  weather 
by  a  kind  of  shed  built  purposely  over  it.  Near  it  were 
three  human  skulls,  laid  in  order,  very  white  and  clean,  and 
quite  perfect. 

We  afterwards  took  a  walk  towards  a  point  on  which 
we  had  from  afar  observed  trees  of  etoa  (Casuarina  equiseti- 
folia),  from  whence  we  judged  that  there  would  be  some  marai 
in  the  neighbourhood ;  nor  were  we  disappointed,  for  we 
had  no  sooner  arrived  there  than  we  were  struck  with  the 
sight  of  a  most  enormous  pile,  certainly  the  masterpiece  of 
Indian  architecture  in  this  island,  and  so  all  the  inhabitants 
allowed.  Its  size  and  workmanship  almost  exceed  belief. 
Its  form  was  similar  to  that  of  marais  in  general,  resembling 
the  roof  of  a  house,  not  smooth  at  the  sides,  but  formed  into 
eleven  steps,  each  of  these  four  feet  in  height,  making  in 
all  44  feet;  its  length  was  267  feet,  its  breadth  71  feet. 
Every  one  of  these  steps  was  formed  of  white  coral  stones, 
most  of  them  neatly  squared  and  polished ;  the  rest  were 
round  pebbles,  but  these,  from  their  uniformity  of  size  and 
roundness,  seemed  to  have  been  worked.  Some  of  the  coral 
stones  were  very  large,  one  I  measured  was  3-g-  by  2|-  feet. 


JUNE  1769  A  LARGE  MARAI  103 

The  foundation  was  of  rock  stone,  likewise  squared;  the 
corner-stone  measured  4  feet  *7  inches  by  2  feet  4  inches. 
The  building  made  part  of  one  side  of  a  spacious  area  walled 
in  with  stone  ;  the  size  of  this,  which  seemed  to  be  intended 
for  a  square,  was  118  by  110  paces,  and  it  was  entirely 
paved  with  flat  paving-stones.  It  is  almost  beyond  belief 
that  Indians  could  raise  so  large  a  structure  without  the 
assistance  of  iron  tools  to  shape  their  stones  or  mortar  to 
join  them ;  which  last  appears  almost  essential,  as  most  of 
them  are  round :  but  it  is  done,  and  almost  as  firmly  as  an 
European  workman  would  have  done  it,  though  in  some 
things  they  seem  to  have  failed.  The  steps  for  instance, 
which  range  along  its  greatest  length,  are  not  straight ;  they 
bend  downward  in  the  middle,  forming  a  small  segment  of 
a  circle.  Possibly  the  ground  may  have  sunk  a  little  under 
the  immense  weight  of  such  a  great  pile  ;  such  a  sinking,  if  it 
took  place  regularly,  would  have  this  effect.  The  labour  of 
the  work  is  prodigious,  the  quarried  stones  are  but  few,  but 
they  must  have  been  brought  by  hand  from  some  distance ; 
at  least  we  saw  no  signs  of  a  quarry  near  it,  though  I  looked 
carefully  about  me.  The  coral  must  have  been  fished  up 
from  under  the  water,  where  indeed  it  is  most  plentiful,  but 
usually  covered  with  at  least  three  or  four  feet  of  water,  and 
generally  with  much  more.  The  labour  of  forming  the 
blocks  when  obtained  must  also  have  been  at  least  as  great 
as  that  employed  in  getting  them.  The  natives  have  not 
shown  us  any  way  by  which  they  could  square  a  stone 
except  by  means  of  another,  which  must  be  a  most  tedious 
process,  and  liable  to  many  accidents  through  tools  breaking. 
The  stones  are  also  polished  as  well  and  as  truly  as  stones 
of  the  kind  could  be  by  the  best  workman  in  Europe ;  in  that 
particular  they  excel,  owing  to  the  great  plenty  of  a  sharp 
coral  sand  which  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose,  and 
which  is  found  everywhere  upon  the  sea-shore  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood. 

About  a  hundred  yards  to  the  west  of  this  building  was 
another  court  or  paved  area,  in  which  were  several  JEwhattas, 
a  kind  of  altar  raised  on  wooden  pillars  about  seven  feet 


104  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

high ;  on  these  they  offer  meat  of  all  kinds  to  the  gods. 
We  have  thus  seen  large  hogs  offered;  and  here  were  the 
skulls  of  above  fifty  of  them,  besides  those  of  dogs,  which 
the  priest  who  accompanied  us  assured  us  were  only  a  small 
fraction  of  what  had  been  here  sacrificed.  This  marai  and 
apparatus  for  sacrifice  belonged,  we  were  told,  to  Oborea  and 
Oamo. 

The  greatest  pride  of  an  inhabitant  of  Otahite  is  to 
have  a  grand  marai;  in  this  particular  our  friends  far 
exceed  any  one  in  the  island,  and  in  the  Dolphin's  time  the 
first  of  them  exceeded  every  one  else  in  riches  and  respect. 
The  reason  of  the  difference  of  her  present  appearance,  I 
found  by  an  accident  which  I  now  relate.  Our  road  to  the 
marai  lay  by  the  seaside,  and  everywhere  under  our  feet  were 
numberless  human  bones,  chiefly  ribs  and  vertebrae.  So 
singular  a  sight  surprised  me  much,  and  I  inquired  the  reason. 
I  was  told  that  in  the  month  called  by  them  Owarahew  last, 
which  answers  to  our  December  1*768,  the  people  of  Tiar- 
reboo  made  a  descent  here  and  killed  a  large  number  of 
people,  whose  bones  we  now  saw ;  that  upon  this  occasion 
Oborea  and  Oamo  were  obliged  to  flee  for  shelter  to  the 
mountains ;  that  the  conquerors  burnt  all  the  houses,  which 
were  very  large,  and  took  away  all  the  hogs,  etc. ;  that  the 
turkey  and  goose  which  we  had  seen  were  part  of  the  spoils, 
as  were  the  jaw-bones  which  we  had  also  seen ;  these  had 
been  carried  away  as  trophies,  and  are  used  by  the  Indians 
here  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  North  Americans 
do  scalps. 

30^.  At  night  we  came  to  Otakourou,  the  very  place  at 
which  we  were  on  the  28th  of  May;  here  we  were  among 
our  intimate  friends,  who  expressed  the  pleasure  they  had 
in  entertaining  us,  by  giving  us  a  good  supper  and  good 
beds,  in  which  we  slept  the  better  for  being  sure  of  reaching 
Matavie  [where  the  ship  lay]  to-morrow  night  at  the  farthest. 
Here  we  learned  that  the  bread-fruit  (a  little  of  which  we 
saw  just  sprouting  upon  the  trees)  would  not  be  fit  to  eat 
in  less  than  three  months. 

2nd  July.  All  our  friends  crowded  this  morning  to  see 


JULY  1769  SUPPLY  OF  BREAD-FRUIT  105 

us,  and  tell  us  that  they  were  rejoiced  at  our  return ;  nor 
were  they  empty-handed,  most  of  them  brought  something 
or  other.  The  canoes  were  still  in  the  river,  and  Captain 
Cook,  finding  that  there  was  no  likelihood  now  of  any  of 
the  stolen  goods  being  restored,  resolved  to  let  them  go  as 
soon  as  he  could.  His  friend  Potattow  solicited  for  one, 
which  was  immediately  granted,  as  it  was  imagined  that  the 
favour  was  asked  for  some  of  his  friends ;  but  no  sooner  did 
he  begin  to  move  the  boat  than  the  real  owners  and  a 
number  of  Indians  opposed  him,  telling  him  and  his  people 
very  clamorously  that  it  did  not  belong  to  them.  He 
answered  that  he  had  bought  it  of  the  captain,  and  given  a 
pig  for  it ;  the  people  were  by  this  declaration  satisfied,  and 
had  we  not  luckily  overheard  it,  he  would  have  taken  away 
this  boat,  and  probably  soon  after  have  solicited  for  more. 
On  being  detected  he  became  so  sulky  and  ashamed,  that  for 
the  rest  of  the  day  neither  he  nor  his  wife  would  open  their 
mouths,  or  look  straight  at  any  of  us. 

3rd.  This  morning  very  early  Mr.  Monkhouse  and  my- 
self set  out,  resolving  to  follow  the  course  of  the  valley 
down  which  our  river  conies,  in  order  to  see  how  far  up  it 
was  inhabited,  etc.  etc.  When  we  had  got  about  two  miles 
up  it,  we  met  several  of  our  neighbours  coming  down  with 
loads  of  bread-fruit  upon  their  backs  :  we  had  often  wondered 
from  whence  our  small  supply  of  bread-fruit  came,  as  there 
was  none  to  be  seen  upon  the  flats.  They  soon  explained 
the  mystery,  showing  us  bread-fruit  trees  planted  on  the 
sides  of  the  hills,  and  telling  us  at  the  same  time  that  when 
the  fruit  in  the  flats  failed,  these,  which  had  been  by  them 
planted  upon  the  hills  to  preserve  the  succession,  were  ready 
for  use.  The  quantity  was  much  less  than  in  the  lowlands, 
and  not  by  any  means  sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  interval 
of  scarcity.  When  this  was  exhausted  they  were  obliged 
to  live  on  aJiee  nuts,  plantains,  and  vae  (or  wild  plantain), 
which  grows  very  high  up  in  the  mountains.  How  the 
Dolphin's  men,  who  were  here  much  about  this  time,  came  to 
find  so  great  plenty  of  bread-fruit  upon  the  trees,  is  a  mystery 
to  me,  unless  perhaps  the  season  of  this  fruit  alters.  As  for  their 


xo6  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

having  met  with  a  much  larger  supply  of  hogs,  fowls,  etc., 
than  we  have  done,  I  can  most  readily  account  for  that,  as 
we  have  found  by  constant  experience  that  these  people 
may  be  frightened  into  anything.  They  have  often  described 
to  us  the  terror  which  the  Dolphin's  gun  caused  them,  and 
when  we  ask  how  many  people  were  killed,  they  number 
names  upon  their  fingers,  some  ten,  some  twenty,  some 
thirty,  and  then  say  worrow  worrow,  the  same  word  as  is 
used  for  a  flock  of  birds  or  a  shoal  of  fish.  The  Dolphin's 
journals  often  serve  to  confirm  this  opinion.  "  When,"  say 
they,  "  towards  the  latter  end  of  our  time  provisions  were 
scarce,  a  party  of  men  were  sent  towards  Eparre  to  get 
hogs,  etc.,  an  office  which  they  had  not  the  smallest  diffi- 
culty in  performing,  for  the  people,  as  we  went  along  the 
shore,  drove  out  their  hogs  to  meet  us,  and  would  not 
allow  us  to  pay  anything  for  them." 

About  a  mile  farther  on  we  found  houses  fairly  plentiful 
on  each  side  of  the  river,  the  valley  being  all  this  way  three 
or  four  hundred  yards  across.  "We  were  now  shown  a  house 
which  proved  the  last  we  saw ;  the  master  offered  us  cocoa- 
nuts,  and  we  refreshed  ourselves.  Beyond  this  we  went 
maybe  six  miles  (it  is  difficult  to  guess  distances  when  roads 
are  bad  as  this  was,  for  we  were  generally  obliged  to  travel 
along  the  course  of  the  river).  We  passed  by  several  hollow 
places  under  stones  where,  we  were  told,  that  people  who 
were  benighted  slept.  At  length  we  arrived  at  a  place 
where  the  river  was  banked  on  each  side  with  steep  rocks ; 
and  a  cascade  which  fell  from  them  made  a  pool  so  deep, 
that  the  Indians  said  we  could  not  go  beyond  it — they  never 
did.  Their  business  lay  below  the  rocks,  on  each  side  of  the 
plains,  above  which  grew  great  plenty  of  vae.  The  avenues 
to  these  were  truly  dreadful,  the  rocks  were  nearly  perpen- 
dicular, one  being  nearly  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  with  its 
face  constantly  wet  and  slippery  from  the  water  of  number- 
less springs.  Directly  up  the  face  of  even  this  was  a  road, 
or  rather  a  succession  of  long  pieces  of  bark  of  Hibiscus 
tiliaceus,  which  served  as  a  rope  to  take  hold  of  and  scramble 
up  from  ledge  to  ledge,  though  upon  these  very  ledges  none 


JULY  1769  INTERIOR  OF  THE  ISLAND  107 

but  a  goat  or  an  Indian  could  have  stood.  One  of  these  ropes 
was  nearly  thirty  feet  in  length ;  our  guides  offered  to  help 
us  up  this  pass,  but  rather  recommended  one  lower  down,  a 
few  hundred  yards  away,  which  was  much  less  dangerous. 
We  did  not  choose  to  venture  on  it,  as  the  sight  which  was 
to  reward  our  hazard  was  nothing  but  a  grove  of  vae  trees, 
such  as  we  had  often  seen  before. 

In  the  whole  course  of  this  walk  the  rocks  were  almost 
constantly  bare  to  the  view,  so  that  I  had  a  most  excellent 
opportunity  of  searching  for  any  appearance  of  minerals,  but 
saw  not  the  smallest  sign  of  any.  The  stones  everywhere 
showed  manifest  signs  of  having  been  at  some  time  or  other 
burnt,  indeed  I  have  not  yet  seen  a  specimen  of  stone  in  the 
island  that  has  not  the  visible  marks  of  fire  upon  it ;  small 
pieces  indeed  of  the  hatchet  stone  may  be  without  them,  but 
I  have  pieces  of  the  same  kind  burnt  almost  to  a  pumice : 
the  very  clay  upon  the  hills  shows  manifest  signs  of  fire. 
Possibly  the  island  owes  its  origin  to  a  volcano,  which  now 
no  longer  burns,  or,  theoretically  speaking,  for  the  sake  of 
those  authors  who  balance  this  globe  by  a  proper  weight  of 
continent  placed  near  these  latitudes,  this  necessary  con- 
tinent may  have  been  sunk  by  dreadful  earthquakes  and 
volcanoes  two  or  three  hundred  fathoms  under  the  sea,  the 
tops  of  the  highest  mountains  only  remaining  above  the 
water  in  the  shape  of  islands :  an  undoubted  proof  being 
that  such  a  thing  now  exists,  to  the  great  support  of  their 
theory,  which,  were  it  not  for  this  proof,  would  have  been 
already  totally  demolished  by  the  course  our  ship  made 
from  Cape  Horn  to  this  island. 

4t?L  I  employed  myself  in  planting  a  large  quantity  of 
the  seeds  of  water-melons,  oranges,  lemons,  limes,  etc.,  which 
I  had  brought  from  Eio  de  Janeiro ;  they  were  planted  on 
both  sides  of  the  fort  in  as  many  varieties  of  soil  as  I  could 
choose.  I  have  very  little  doubt  of  the  former,  especially, 
coming  to  perfection,  as  I  have  given  away  large  quantities 
of  seed  among  the  natives ;  I  planted  some  also  in  the 
woods.  The  natives  now  continually  ask  me  for  seeds,  and 
have  already  shown  me  melon  plants  of  their  raising  which 


io8  OTAHITE  CHAP,  v 

had  taken  perfectly  well.  The  seeds  that  Captain  Cook 
sowed  have  proved  so  bad  that  not  one  has  come  up, 
except  the  mustard ;  even  the  cucumbers  and  melons  have 
failed,  owing  probably  to  their  having  been  packed  in  small 
bottles  sealed  down  with  rosin. 

7th.  The  carpenters  were  this  morning  employed  in 
taking  down  the  gates  and  palisades  of  our  little  forti- 
fication to  make  us  firewood  for  the  ship,  when  one  of  the 
Indians  made  shift  to  steal  the  staple  and  hook  of  the  great 
gate.  We  were  immediately  apprised  of  the  theft,  to  the 
great  affright  of  our  visitors,  of  whom  the  bell-tent  was  full ; 
their  fears  were,  however,  presently  quieted,  and  I  (as  usual) 
set  out  on  my  ordinary  occupation  of  thief-catching.  The 
Indians  most  readily  joined  me,  and  away  we  set  full  cry, 
much  like  a  pack  of  fox-hounds ;  we  ran  and  walked,  and 
walked  and  ran,  for,  I  believe,  six  miles  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  when  we  learnt  that  we  had  very  early  in  the 
chase  passed  our  game,  who  was  washing  in  a  brook  when 
he  saw  us  coming,  and  hid  himself  in  the  rushes.  We 
returned  to  the  place,  and  by  some  intelligence  which  some 
of  our  people  got,  found  a  scraper  which  had  been  stolen 
from  the  ship  and  was  hid  in  those  very  rushes ;  with  this 
we  returned,  and  Tubourai  soon  after  brought  the  staple. 

12th.  This  morning  Tupia  came  on  board;  he  had  ex- 
pressed his  intention  of  going  with  us  to  England,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  gives  me  much  satisfaction  ;  he  is  certainly 
a  most  proper  man,  well  born,  chief  Tahowa  or  priest  of  this 
island,  consequently  skilled  in  the  mysteries  of  their  religion  ; 
but  what  makes  him  more  than  anything  desirable  is  his 
experience  in  the  navigation  of  these  people  and  knowledge 
of  the  islands  in  these  seas.  He  has  told  us  the  names  of 
above  seventy,  at  most  of  which  he  has  himself  been.  The 
captain  refuses  to  take  him  on  his  own  account ;  in  my 
opinion  sensibly  enough,  as  the  Government  will  never  in 
all  human  probability  take  any  notice  of  him.  I  therefore 
have  resolved  to  take  him ;  thank  Heaven,  I  have  a  suffi- 
ciency, and  I  do  not  know  why  I  may  not  keep  him  as  a 
curiosity  as  well  as  my  neighbours  do  lions  and  tigers  at  a 


JULY  1769  TUPIA  JOINS  THE  SHIP  109 

larger  expense  than  he  will  ever  probably  put  me  to.  The 
amusement  I  shall  have  in  his  future  conversation,  and  the 
benefit  which  will  be  derived  by  this  ship,  as  well  as  any 
other  which  may  in  the  future  be  sent  into  these  seas,  will, 
I  think,  fully  repay  me.  As  soon  as  he  had  made  his  mind 
known,  he  said  he  would  go  ashore  and  return  in  the  evening, 
when  he  would  make  a  signal  for  a  boat  to  be  sent  off  for 
him.  He  took  with  him  a  miniature  picture  of  mine  to 
show  his  friends,  and  several  little  things  to  give  them  as 
parting  presents. 


CHAPTER   YI 

OTAHITE    TO    OHETEEOA 
JULY  13— AUGUST  14,  1769 

Departure  from  Otahite — Huahine — Ulhietea — God-houses — Boats  and  boat- 
houses — Otahah — Bola-Bola — Return  to  Ulhietea — Reception  by  natives 
— Dancing — Pearls — The  King  of  Bola-Bola — Native  drama — Oheteroa 
— Dress — Arms. 

13th  July.  About  ten  this  morning  we  sailed  from  Otahite, 
leaving  our  friends,  some  of  them  at  least,  I  really  believe, 
personally  sorry  for  our  departure.  Our  nearest  friends 
came  on  board  at  this  critical  time,  except  only  Tubourai 
and  Tamio ;  we  had  Oborea,  Otheothea,  Taysa,  Nuna,  Tuanne, 
Matte,  Pottatow,  Polothearia,  etc.,  on  board.  When  the 
anchor  was  weighed  they  took  their  leaves  tenderly  enough, 
not  without  plenty  of  tears,  though  entirely  without  that 
clamorous  weeping  made  use  of  by  the  other  Indians,  several 
boats  of  which  were  about  the  ship,  shouting  out  their  lament- 
ations, as  vying  with  each  other,  not  who  should  cry  most, 
but  who  should  cry  loudest,  a  custom  we  had  often  con- 
demned in  conversation  with  our  particular  friends,  as 
savouring  more  of  affected  than  real  grief. 

Tupia,  who  after  all  his  struggles  stood  firm  at  last  in 
his  resolution  of  accompanying  us,  parted  with  a  few  heart- 
felt tears,  so  I  judge  them  to  have  been  by  the  efforts  I  saw 
him  make  to  hide  them.  He  sent  by  Otheothea  his  last 
present,  a  shirt,  to  Potamia,  Dootahah's  favourite ;  he  and  I 
went  then  to  the  topmast-head,  where  we  stood  a  long  time 
waving  to  the  canoes  as  they  went  off,  after  which  he  came 
down  and  showed  no  further  signs  of  seriousness  or  concern. 


JULY  1769  HUAHINE 


in 


1 5th.  Our  Indian  often  prayed  to  Tarn  for  a  wind,  and 
as  often  boasted  to  me  of  the  success  of  his  prayers,  which 
I  plainly  saw  he  never  began  till  he  perceived  a  breeze  so 
near  the  ship  that  it  generally  reached  her  before  his  prayer 
was  finished. 

16th.  This  morning  we  were  very  near  the  island  of 
Huahine;  some  canoes  very  soon  came  off,  but  appeared 
very  much  frightened ;  one,  however,  came  to  us  bringing  a 
chief  and  his  wife,  who  on  Tupia's  assurance  of  our  friendship 
came  on  board.  They  resembled  the  Otahite  people  in 
language,  dress,  tattow,  in  short,  in  everything.  Tupia  has 
always  said  that  the  people  of  this  island  and  Ulhietea  will 
not  steal,  in  which  they  indeed  differ  much  from  our  late 
friends  if  they  only  keep  up  to  their  character. 

Soon  after  dinner  we  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  very  small 
bay,  called  by  the  natives  Owalle,  and  immediately  went 
ashore.  As  soon  as  we  landed  Tupia  squatted  down  on  the 
ground,  and  ranging  us  on  one  side  and  the  Indians  on  the 
other,  began  to  pray  to  the  chief  who  stood  opposite  to  him, 
answering  him  in  a  kind  of  response ;  this  lasted  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  in  which  time  he  sent  at  different  inter- 
vals two  handkerchiefs  and  some  beads  he  had  prepared  for 
the  purpose  for  Eatua  ;  these  were  sent  among  many  messages 
which  passed  backwards  and  forwards  with  plantains,  etc. 
In  return  for  this  present  to  their  gods,  which  it  seems  was 
very  acceptable,  we  had  a  hog  given  for  our  Eatua,  which  in 
this  case  will  certainly  be  our  stomachs. 

1*7 th.  We  found  the  productions  here  almost  exactly  the 
same  as  at  Otahite — upon  the  hills  the  rocks  and  slag  were 
burnt  if  anything  more  than  they  were  in  that  island.  The 
people  also  were  almost  exactly  like  our  late  friends,  but 
rather  more  stupid  and  lazy,  in  proof  of  which  I  need  only 
say  that  we  should  have  gone  much  higher  up  the  hills  than 
we  did  if  we  could  have  persuaded  them  to  accompany  us ; 
their  only  excuse  was  the  fear  of  being  killed  by  the  fatigue. 
Their  houses  are  very  neat,  and  their  boat-houses  particularly 
very  large :  one  of  these  I  measured  was  fifty  good  paces  in 
length,  ten  in  breadth,  and  twenty-four  feet  in  height. 


112  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

The  Gothic  arch  of  which  it  consisted  was  supported  on  one 
side  by  twenty-six,  and  on  the  other  by  thirty  pillars, 
or  rather  clumsy  thick  posts  of  about  two  feet  high  and 
one  thick ;  most  of  these  were  carved  with  the  heads 
of  men,  boys,  or  other  devices,  as  the  rough  fancy  and 
rougher  workmanship  of  these  stone-hatchet-furnished  gentry 
suggested  and  executed.  The  flats  were  filled  with  very 
fine  bread-fruit  trees  and  an  infinite  number  of  cocoanuts, 
upon  which  latter  the  inhabitants  seem  to  depend  much 
more  than  those  of  Otahite ;  we  saw,  however,  large  spaces 
occupied  by  lagoons  and  salt  swamps,  upon  which  neither 
bread-fruit  nor  cocoanut  would  thrive. 

18/^.  This  morning  we  went  to  take  a  further  view  of  a 
building  which  we  had  seen  yesterday,  and  admired  a  good 
deal,  taking  with  us  Tupia's  boy  Tayeto  (he  himself  was  too 
much  engaged  with  his  friends  to  have  time  to  accompany  us). 
The  boy  told  us  that  the  building  was  called  JSwharre  no 
Eatua,  or  the  house  of  the  god,  but  could  not  explain  at  all 
the  use  of  it.  It  consisted  of  a  chest  whose  lid  was  nicely 
sewed  on,  and  very  neatly  thatched  over  with  palm -nut 
leaves ;  the  whole  was  fixed  on  two  poles  by  little  arches  of 
very  neatly  carved  wood.  These  poles  seemed  to  be  used  in 
carrying  it  from  place  to  place,  though  when  we  saw  it,  it  was 
supported  upon  two  posts.  One  end  of  the  chest  was  open, 
with  a  round  hole  within  a  square  one  ;  this  was  yesterday 
stopped  up  with  a  piece  of  cloth,  which,  lest  I  should  offend 
the  people,  I  left  untouched  ;  but  to-day  the  cloth,  and 
probably  the  contents  of  the  chest,  were  removed,  as  there 
was  nothing  at  all  in  it. 

Trade  to-day  does  not  go  on  with  any  spirit ;  the  people, 
when  anything  is  offered  them,  will  not  rely  on  their  own 
judgment,  but  take  the  opinion  of  twenty  or  thirty  people 
about  them,  a  proceeding  which  takes  up  much  time. 

19^.  This  morning  trade  was  rather  better;  we  obtained 
three  very  large  hogs  and  some  pigs  by  producing  hatchets, 
which  had  not  been  before  given,  and  which  we  had  hoped 
to  have  had  no  occasion  for  in  an  island  not  hitherto  seen 
by  Europeans. 


JULY  1769  ULHIETEA  113 

Huahine  differs  scarcely  at  all  from  Otahite,  either  in 
its  productions  or  in  the  customs  of  the  people.  In  all  our 
researches  here  we  have  not  found  above  ten  or  twelve  new 
plants;  there  were,  indeed,  a  few  insects  and  a  species  of 
scorpion  which  we  had  not  seen  at  Otahite.  This  island 
seems,  however  (this  year,  at  least),  to  be  a  month  more 
forward  than  the  other,  as  the  ripeness  of  the  cocoanuts, 
now  full  of  kernel,  and  the  new  bread-fruit,  some  of  which 
is  fit  to  eat,  fully  evinces.  Of  the  cocoanut  kernels  they 
make  a  food,  called  poe,  by  scraping  them  fine  and  mixing 
them  with  yams,  also  scraped ;  these  are  then  put  into  a 
wooden  trough,  and  hot  stones  laid  among  them.  By  this 
means  a  kind  of  oily  hasty -pudding  is  made,  which  our 
people  relished  very  well,  especially  when  fried* 

The  men  here  are  large  and  stout ;  one  we  measured  was 
six  feet  three  inches  high  and  well  made.  The  women  are 
very  fair,  more  so  than  at  Otahite,  though  we  saw  none  so 
handsome.  Both  sexes  seemed  to  be  less  timid,  as  well  as 
less  curious ;  the  firing  of  a  gun  frightened  them,  but  they 
did  not  fall  down,  as  our  Otahite  friends  generally  did.  On 
one  of  their  people  being  taken  in  the  act  of  stealing,  and 
seized  by  the  hair,  the  rest  did  not  run  away,  but  coming 
round,  inquired  into  the  cause,  and,  seemingly  at  least,  ap- 
proving of  the  justice,  recommended  a  beating  for  the 
offender,  which  was  immediately  put  into  practice. 

When  they  first  came  on  board  the  ship  they  seemed 
struck  with  sights  so  new,  and  wondered  at  everything  that 
was  shown  to  them,  but  did  not  seem  to  search  or  inquire 
for  matters  of  curiosity  even  so  much  as  the  people  of 
Otahite  did,  although  the  latter  had  before  seen  almost 
everything  we  had  to  show  them. 

20th.  At  noon  to-day  we  came  to  anchor  at  Ulhietea,  in 
a  bay  called  by  the  natives  Oapoa,  the  entrance  of  which 
is  very  near  a  small  islet  called  Owhattera.  Some  Indians 
soon  came  on  board,  expressing  signs  of  fear.  There  were 
two  canoes,  each  of  which  brought  a  woman,  I  suppose,  as  a 
mark  of  confidence,  and  a  pig  as  a  present.  To  each  of 
these  ladies  was  given  a  spike -nail  and  some  beads,  with 

i 


ii4  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

which  they  seemed  much  pleased.  Tupia,  who  has  always 
expressed  much  fear  of  the  men  of  Bola-Bola,  says  that  they 
have  conquered  this  island,  and  will  to-morrow  come  down 
and  fight  with  us ;  we  therefore  lose  no  time  in  going 
ashore,  as  we  are  to  have  to-day  to  ourselves. 

On  landing  Tupia  repeated  the  ceremony  of  praying,  as 
at  Huahine,  after  which  an  English  Jack  was  set  up  on 
shore,  and  Captain  Cook  took  possession  of  this  and  the  other 
three  islands  in  sight,  viz.  Huahine,  Otahah,  and  Bola- 
Bola,  for  the  use  of  His  Britannic  Majesty.  After  this  we 
walked  together  to  a  great  marai,  called  Tapodeboatea, 
whatever  that  may  signify.  It  is  different  from  those  of 
Otahite,  consisting  merely  of  walls  of  coral  stones  (some  of 
an  immense  size)  about  eight  feet  high,  filled  up  with 
smaller  ones,  and  the  whole  ornamented  with  many  planks 
set  up  on  end,  and  carved  throughout  their  entire  length. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  we  found  the  altar  or  Ewhatta, 
upon  which  lay  the  last  sacrifice,  a  hog  of  about  eighty 
pounds  weight,  which  had  been  put  up  there  whole,  and 
very  nicely  roasted.  Here  were  also  four  or  five  Ewharre 
no  JEatua,  or  god-houses,  which  were  made  to  be  carried  on 
poles ;  one  of  these  I  examined  by  putting  my  head  into  it. 
Within  was  a  parcel  about  five  feet  long  and  one  thick, 
wrapped  up  in  mats.  These  I  tore  with  my  fingers  till  I 
came  to  a  covering  of  mat  made  of  plaited  cocoanut  fibres, 
which  it  was  impossible  to  get  through,  so  I  was  obliged  to 
desist,  especially  as  what  I  had  already  done  gave  much 
offence  to  our  new  friends.  In  an  adjoining  long  house, 
among  several  other  things  such  as  rolls  of  cloth,  etc.,  was 
standing  a  model  of  a  canoe  about  three  feet  long,  upon 
which  were  tied  eight  human  lower  jaw-bones.  Tupia  told 
us  that  it  was  the  custom  of  these  islanders  to  cut  off  the 
jaw-bones  of  those  whom  they  had  killed  in  war.  These 
were,  he  said,  the  jaw-bones  of  Ulhietea  people,  but  how 
they  came  here,  or  why  tied  thus  to  a  canoe,  we  could  not 
understand  ;  we  therefore  contented  ourselves  with  conjectur- 
ing that  they  were  placed  there  as  a  trophy  won  back  from 
the  men  of  Bola-Bola,  their  mortal  enemies.  Night  now 


JULY  1769  NATIVE  BOATS  115 

came  on  apace,  but  Dr.  Solander  and  I  walked  along  shore 
a  little  way,  and  saw  an  Ewharre  no  Eatua,  the  under  part  of 
which  was  lined  with  a  row  of  jaw-bones.  These,  we  were 
told,  were  also  those  of  Ulhietea  men.  We  saw  also  cocoa- 
nut  trees,  the  stems  of  which  were  hung  round  with  nuts, 
so  that  no  part  could  be  seen ;  these,  we  were  told,  were 
put  there  to  dry  a  little,  and  be  prepared  for  making  poe. 
A  tree  of  Ficus  prolixa  was  in  great  perfection ;  the  trunk, 
or  rather  congeries  of  small  roots,  being  forty-two  paces  in 
circumference. 

21  st.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  walked  out  this  morning  and 
saw  many  boat-houses  like  that  described  at  Huahine 
(p.  Ill);  on  these  the  inhabitants  were  at  work,  making 
and  repairing  the  large  canoes  called  by  them  Pahie,  at 
which  business  they  worked  with  incredible  cleverness, 
although  their  tools  were  as  bad  as  possible.  I  will  first 
give  the  description  and  dimensions  of  one  of  their  boats, 
and  then  their  method  of  building.  Her  extreme  length 
from  stem  to  stern,  not  reckoning  the  bending  up  of  both 
those  parts,  5 1  feet ;  breadth  in  the  clear  at  the  top  forward, 
14  inches,  amidships  18,  aft  15  ;  in  the  bilge  forward  32 
inches,  amidships  35,  aft  33  ;  depth  amidships,  3  feet  4 
inches ;  height  above  the  ground,  3  feet  6  inches ;  her  head 
raised,  without  the  figure,  1 1  inches ;  her  stern,  8  feet  9 
inches ;  the  figure,  2  feet.  Alongside  of  her  was  lashed 
another  like  her  in  all  respects,  but  smaller  in  proportion, 
being  only  33  feet  in  her  extreme  length.  The  form  of 
these  canoes  can  be  better  shown  by  a  drawing  than  by 
any  description ;  the  annexed  may 
serve  to  give  some  idea  of  a  sec- 
tion :  a  a  is  the  first  seam,  b  I  the 
second,  cc  the  third.  The  first 
stage,  or  keel  under  a  a,  is  made 
of  trees  hollowed  out  like  a 
trough.  For  this  purpose  they 
choose  the  longest  trees  they  can  find,  so  that  two  or  three 
form  the  bottom  of  their  largest  boat  (some  of  which  are 
much  larger  than  that  described  here,  as  I  make  a  rule  to 


i 


ii6  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

describe  everything  of  this  kiiid  from  the  commonest  size). 
The  next  stage,  under  1 1,  is  formed  of  straight  planks  about 
4  feet  long,  15  inches  broad,  and  2  inches  thick.  The 
third  stage,  under  c  c,  is  made,  like  the  bottom,  of  trunks 
of  trees  hollowed  out  into  its  bilging  form.  The  last  stage, 
above  cc,  is  formed  also  out  of  the  trunks  of  trees,  so  that 
the  moulding  is  of  one  piece  with  the  plank.  This  work, 
difficult  as  it  would  be  to  an  European  with  his  iron  tools, 
they  perform  without  iron  and  with  amazing  dexterity. 
They  hollow  out  with  their  stone  axes  as  fast,  at  least,  as 
our  carpenters  could  do,  and  dubb,  though  slowly,  with  pro- 
digious nicety.  I  have  seen  them  take  off  the  skin  of  an 
angular  plank  without  missing  a  stroke,  the  skin  itself  scarce 
one-sixteenth  part  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  Boring  the  holes 
through  which  their  sewing  is  to  pass  seems  to  be  their 
greatest  difficulty.  Their  tools  are  made  of  the  bones  of  men, 
generally  the  thin  bone  of  the  upper  arm ;  these  they  grind 
very  sharp  and  fix  to  a  handle  of  wood,  making  the  instru- 
ment serve  the  purpose  of  a  gouge,  by  striking  it  with  a 
mallet  made  of  hard  black  wood.  With  them  they  would 
do  as  much  work  as  with  iron,  were  it  not  that  the  brittle 
edge  of  the  tool  is  very  liable  to  be  broken.  When  they 
have  prepared  their  planks,  etc.,  the  keel  is  laid  on  blocks 
and  the  whole  canoe  put  together  much  in  the  same  manner 
as  we  do  a  ship,  the  sides  being  supported  by  stanchions  and 
all  the  seams  wedged  together  before  the  last  sewing  is  put 
on,  so  that  they  become  tolerably  tight,  considering  that  they 
are  without  caulking. 

With  these  boats  they  venture  themselves  out  of  sight 
of  land  :  we  saw  several  of  them  at  Otahite  which  had  come 
from  Ulhietea ;  and  Tupia  has  told  us  that  they  undertake 
voyages  of  twenty  days ;  whether  this  is  true  or  false  I  do 
not  affirm.  They  keep  the  boats  very  carefully  under  such 
boat-houses  as  are  described  on  p.  111. 

22nd.  We  saw  a  double  pahie  such  as  that  described 
yesterday,  but  much  longer.  She  had  upon  her  an  awning 
supported  by  pillars,  which  held  the  floor  at  least  four  feet 
above  the  deck  or  upper  surface  of  the  boats.  We  saw 


JULY  1769  OTAHAH  117 

also  a  trough  for  making  Poe  poe,  or  sour  paste,  carved  out 
of  hard  black  stone  such  as  their  hatchets  are  made  of;  it 
was  2  feet  7  inches  long  and  1  foot  4  broad,  very  thick  and 
substantial,  and  supported  by  four  short  feet,  the  whole 
neatly  finished  and  perfectly  polished,  though  quite  without 
ornaments.  To-day,  as  well  as  yesterday,  every  one  of  us 
who  walked  out  saw  many  jaw-bones  fixed  up  in  houses,  as 
well  as  out-of-doors,  which  confirmed  what  we  had  been 
told  of  their  taking  these  bones  instead  of  scalps. 

24th.  The  captain  attempted  to  go  out  of  the  reef  by 
another  passage  situated  between  the  two  islets  of  Opourourou 
and  Taumou.  Whilst  the  ship  was  turning  to  windward 
within  the  reef  she  narrowly  escaped  going  ashore ;  the 
quartermaster  in  the  chains  called  out  two  fathoms,  but  as  the 
ship  drew  at  least  fourteen  feet,  it  was  impossible  that  such 
a  shoal  could  be  under  her  keel,  so  that  either  the  man  was 
mistaken,  or  the  ship  went  along  the  edge  of  a  coral  rock, 
many  of  which  are  here  as  steep  as  a  wall. 

Soon  after  this  we  came  to  an  anchor,  and  I  went  ashore, 
but  saw  nothing  except  a  small  rnarai,  ornamented  with  two 
sticks  about  five  feet  long,  each  hung  with  as  many  jaw- 
bones as  possible,  and  one  having  a  skull  stuck  on  its  top. 

28th>  Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  ashore  on  the  island  of 
Otahah.  We  went  through  a  large  breach  in  the  reef 
situate  between  two  islands  called  Toahattu  and  Whennuaia, 
within  which  we  found  very  spacious  harbours,  particularly 
in  one  bay,  which  was  at  least  three  miles  deep.  The  in- 
habitants as  usual,  so  that  long  before  night  we  had  pur- 
chased three  hogs,  twenty-one  fowls,  and  as  many  yams  and 
plantains  as  the  boat  would  hold ;  indeed,  of  these  last  we 
might  have  had  any  quantity,  and  a  more  useful  refreshment 
they  are  to  us,  in  my  opinion,  even  than  the  pork.  They 
have  been  for  this  week  past  boiled,  and  served  instead  of 
bread ;  every  man  in  the  ship  is  fond  of  them,  and  with  us 
in  the  cabin  they  agree  much  better  than  the  bread-fruit 
did.  But  what  makes  any  refreshment  of  this  kind  more 
acceptable  is  that  our  bread  is  at  present  so  full  of  vermin 
that,  notwithstanding  all  possible  care,  I  have  sometimes  had 


n8  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

twenty  at  a  time  in  my  mouth,  every  one  of  which  tasted 
as  hot  as  mustard. 

The  island  itself  seemed  more  barren  than  Ulhietea, 
though  the  produce  was  very  similar,  but  bread-fruit  was 
less  plentiful  than  plantains  and  cocoanuts.  The  people 
were  exactly  the  same,  so  much  so  that  I  did  not  observe 
one  new  custom  worth  mention.  They  were  not  very 
numerous,  but  nocked  from  all  quarters  to  the  boat  where- 
ever  she  went,  bringing  with  them  whatever  they  had  to 
sell.  Here,  as  well  as  in  the  rest  of  the  islands,  they  paid 
us  the  same  compliment  as  they  are  used  to  pay  to  their 
own  kings,  uncovering  their  shoulders  ^-nd  lapping  their 
garments  round  their  breasts.  Here  particularly  they  were 
so  scrupulously  observant  of  it  that  a  man  was  sent  with  us 
who  called  out  to  every  one  we  met,  telling  him  who  we 
were  and  what  they  should  do. 

29th.  We  are  this  morning  close  under  the  island  of 
Bola-Bola,  whose  high  craggy  peak  appears,  on  this  side  at 
least,  totally  inaccessible  to  man  ;  round  it  is  a  large  quantity 
of  low  land,  which  seems  very  barren.  Tupia  tells  us  that 
between  the  shore  and  the  mountain  is  a  large  salt  lagoon, 
a  certain  sign  of  barrenness  in  this  climate. 

31st.  Tupia  to-day  shows  us  a  large  breach  in  the  reef 
of  Otahah,  through  which  the  ship  might  conveniently  pass 
into  a  large  bay,  where  he  says  there  is  good  anchorage. 
We  have  now  a  very  good  opinion  of  Tupia's  pilotage, 
especially  since  we  observed  him  at  Huahine  send  a  man 
to  dive  down  to  the  heel  of  the  ship's  rudder ;  this  the  man 
did  several  times,  and  reported  to  him  the  depth  of  water 
the  ship  drew,  since  when  he  had  never  suffered  her  to  go 
in  less  than  five  fathoms  without  being  much  alarmed. 

2nd  August.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  have  spent  this  day  ashore 
[on  Ulhietea],  and  been  very  agreeably  entertained  by  the 
reception  we  have  met  with  from  the  people,  though  we 
were  not  fortunate  enough  to  meet  with  one  new  plant. 
Every  one  seemed  to  fear  and  respect  us,  but  nobody  to 
mistrust  us  in  the  smallest  degree.  Men,  women,  and 
children  came  crowding  after  us,  but  no  one  showed  us 


AUG.  1769  INHABITANTS  OF  ULHIETEA  119 

the  least  incivility;  on  the  contrary,  wherever  there  was 
dirt  or  water  to  pass  over  they  strove  who  should  carry  us 
on  their  backs.  On  arriving  at  the  houses  of  the  principal 
people  we  were  received  with  a  ceremony  quite  new  to  us ; 
the  people,  who  generally  followed  us,  rushed  into  the 
houses  before  us,  leaving,  however,  a  lane  sufficiently  wide 
for  us  to  pass  through.  When  we  came  in,  we  found  them 
ranged  on  either  side  of  a  long  mat  spread  upon  the  ground, 
at  the  farther  end  of  which  sat  one  or  more  very  young 
women  or  children,  neatly  dressed,  who,  without  stirring, 
expected  us  to  come  up  to  them  and  make  them  presents, 
which  we  did  with  no  small  pleasure,  for  prettier  or  better 
dressed  children  we  had  nowhere  seen.  One  of  these 
Tettuas,  as  they  were  called,  was  about  six  years  old,  her 
apron  or  gown  was  red,  and  round  her  head  was  wound  a 
large  quantity  of  tamou  (plaited  hair),  an  ornament  they 
value  more  than  anything  they  have  ;  she  sat  at  the  farthest 
end  of  a  mat  thirty  feet  long,  on  which  no  one  of  the 
spectators  presumed  to  set  a  foot,  notwithstanding  the 
crowd.  She  was  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  a  well-looking, 
well-dressed  woman  of  about  thirty,  possibly  her  nurse. 
We  walked  up  to  her,  and  as  soon  as  we  approached  she 
stretched  out  her  hand  to  receive  the  beads  we  were  to  give. 
Had  she  been  a  princess-royal  of  England  giving  her  hand 
to  be  kissed,  no  instructions  could  have  taught  her  to  do  it 
with  a  better  grace ;  so  much  is  untaught  nature  superior 
to  art,  that  I  have  seen  no  sight  of  the  kind  that  has  struck 
me  half  so  much. 

Grateful  possibly  for  the  presents  we  had  made  to  these 
girls,  the  people  on  our  return  tried  every  method  to  oblige 
us,  particularly  in  one  house  where  the  master  ordered  one 
of  his  people  to  dance  for  our  amusement,  which  he  did  thus. 
He  put  upon  his  head  a  large  cylindrical  basket  about  four 
feet  long  and  eight  inches  in  diameter,  on  the  front  of  which 
was  fastened  a  facing  of  feathers  bending  forwards  at  the 
top  and  edged  round  with  sharks'  teeth  and  the  tail  feathers 
of  tropic  birds.  With  this  on  he  danced,  moving  slowly, 
and  often  turning  his  head  round,  sometimes  swiftly  throwing 


120  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

the  end  of  his  head-dress,  or  whow,  so  near  the  faces  of  the 
spectators  as  to  make  them  start  back,  which  was  a  joke 
that  seldom  failed  to  make  everybody  laugh,  especially  if  it 
happened  to  one  of  us. 

We  had  also  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  inside  of  the 
Ewharre  no  Eatua,  so  often  mentioned :  there  were  three  of 
them,  much  ornamented  with  jaw-bones,  and  very  full  of 
bundles  wrapped  up  in  their  cloth ;  these  the  people  opened 
after  some  persuasion,  and  in  them  we  found  complete  skulls, 
with  their  lower  jaw-bones  in  their  proper  places;  perhaps 
these  were  the  skulls  of  those  of  the  victorious  party  who 
died  in  battle,  and  the  jaw-bones  fastened  on  the  outside 
were  those  of  the  conquered,  but  for  this  conjecture  I  had 
no  authority  from  the  Indians,  who  seemed  to  avoid  as  much 
as  possible  any  questions  upon  the  subject. 

3rd.  Went  along  shore  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that 
we  took  yesterday,  intending  to  spend  most  of  our  time  in 
purchasing  stock,  which  we  have  always  found  the  people 
ready  to  part  with  at  their  houses,  and  selling  cheaper  than 
at  the  market.  In  the  course  of  our  walk  we  met  a  set  of 
strolling  dancers,  called  by  the  Indians  heiva,  who  detained 
us  two  hours,  and  during  all  that  time  entertained  us  highly 
indeed.  The  party  consisted  of  three  drums,  two  women 
dancers  and  six  men ;  these  Tupia  tells  us  go  round  the 
island,  as  we  have  seen  the  little  heivas  do  at  Otahite,  but 
differ  from  those  in  that  most  of  the  members  of  the  heiva 
here  are  important  people,  of  which  assertion  we  had  in  the 
case  of  one  of  the  women  an  undoubted  proof. 

The  women  had  on  their  heads  a  quantity  of  tamou,  or 
plaited  hair,  which  was  rolled,  and  flowers  of  gardenia  were 
stuck  between  the  interstices,  making  a  head-dress  truly 
elegant.  Their  shoulders,  arms,  and  breasts  as  low  as  their 
arms  were  bare,  below  this  they  were  covered  with  black 
cloth,  and  under  each  shoulder  was  placed  a  bunch  of  black 
feathers  much  as  our  ladies'  nosegays  or  bouquets.  On 
their  hips  rested  a  quantity  of  cloth  plaited  very  full,  which 
reached  almost  up  to  their  arms,  and  fell  down  below  into 
long  petticoats,  reaching  below  their  feet,  which  they  managed 


AUG.  1769  PEARLS  121 

with  as  much  dexterity  as  our  opera  dancers  could  have 
done ;  these  plaits  were  brown  and  white  alternately,  but 
the  petticoats  were  all  white.  In  this  dress  they  advanced 
sideways,  keeping  excellent  time  to  the  drums,  which  beat 
briskly  and  loud  :  they  soon  began  to  shake  their  hips,  giving 
the  folds  of  cloth  that  lay  upon  them  a  very  quick  motion, 
continued  during  the  whole  dance.  They  sometimes  stood, 
sometimes  sat,  and  sometimes  rested  on  their  knees  and 
elbows,  generally  moving  their  fingers  with  a  quickness 
scarcely  to  be  imagined. 

One  of  these  girls  had  in.  her  ear  three  pearls,  one  very 
large  but  so  foul  that  it  was  worth  scarce  anything ;  the 
other  two  were  as  large  as  a  middling  pea,  and  of  a  clear 
water  as  well  as  a  good  shape.  For  these  I  offered  at  different 
times  any  price  the  owner  would  have,  but  she  would  not 
hear  of  parting  with  them ;  I  offered  once  the  price  of  four 
hogs  down  and  anything  she  would  ask  beside.  They  have 
always  set  a  value  upon  their  pearls,  if  tolerably  good,  almost 
equal  to  our  valuation,  supposing  them  (as  they  always  are, 
however)  not  spoiled  by  the  drilling. 

Between  the  dances  of  the  women  (for  they  sometimes 
rested)  the  men  acted  a  kind  of  interlude,  in  which  they 
spoke  as  well  as  danced ;  we  were  not,  however,  sufficiently 
versed  in  their  language  to  be  able  to  give  an  account  of 
the  drama. 

4th.  We  had  often  heard  Tupia  speak  of  lands  belonging 
to  him  which  had  been  taken  away  by  the  Bola-Bola  men. 
These,  he  tells  us  now,  are  situated  in  the  very  bay  where 
the  ship  lies.  On  going  ashore  this  morning,  the  inhabitants 
confirmed  what  he  had  told  us,  and  showed  us  several 
different  whennuas,  which,  they  all  acknowledged,  belonged 
of  right  to  him.  The  greater  number  of  the  people  here 
are,  it  seems,  the  so-much-feared  Bola-Bola  men,  and  we 
were  told  that  to-morrow  Opoony,  the  king  of  that  island, 
will  come  to  visit  us.  We  are  much  inclined  to  receive 
him  civilly,  as  we  have  met  with  so  civil  a  reception  from 
his  subjects. 

We  saw  the  game  which  the  Indians  call  erowhaw.      It 


122  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

consists  of  nothing  more  than  pitching  a  kind  of  light  lance, 
headed  with  hard  wood,  at  a  mark.  Of  this  amusement  they 
seem  to  be  very  fond,  but  none  that  we  then  saw  excelled 
in  doing  it,  not  above  one  in  twelve  striking  the  mark, 
which  was  the  bole  of  a  plantain  tree  about  twenty  yards 
distant. 

5th.  Went  in  the  boat  to  the  southward  with  the  captain, 
etc. ;  saw  two  inlets  in  the  reef,  and  good  harbours  within 
them.  They  were  both  situate  close  to  islands,  having  one  on 
each  side  of  them ;  indeed,  in  general,  I  have  seen  breaches 
in  reefs  wherever  there  are  islands  upon  them.  The  people 
along  shore  were  very  poor,  so  much  so  that  after  all  our 
day's  work  we  did  not  procure  either  hog  or  fowl,  nor,  indeed, 
did  we  see  either. 

Qtk.  Yesterday  Opoony,  the  king  of  Bola-Bola,  sent  his 
compliments  and  a  present  of  hogs  and  fowls  to  the  king  of 
the  ship,  sending  word  also  that  he  would  in  person  wait 
upon  him  to-day.  We  therefore  all  stayed  at  home  in  hopes 
of  the  honour  of  his  Excellency's  visit.  We  were  disappointed 
in  our  expectations,  but  not  disagreeably,  for  instead  of  his 
Majesty  came  three  handsome,  lively  girls,  who  stayed  with 
us  the  morning,  and  took  off  all  regret  for  the  want  of  his 
Majesty's  company. 

In  the  evening  we  all  went  to  see  the  great  king,  and 
thank  him  for  his  civilities.  The  king  of  the  Tata-toas,  or 
clubmen,  who  have  conquered  this  island,  and  are  the  terror 
of  all  others,  we  expected  to  see  young,  lively,  handsome, 
etc.  etc.,  but  were  disappointed  when  we  were  led  to  an  old, 
decrepit,  half-blind  man,  who  seemed  to  have  scarce  reason 
enough  left  to  send  hogs,  much  less  gallantry  enough  to  send 
ladies. 

*lth.  We  learned  from  Opoony  yesterday  that  his  chief 
residence  was  atOtahah:  to  this  place  he  proposed  to  accompany 
us  to-day.  Captain  Cook  and  Dr.  Solander  went  upon  the 
expedition,  while  I  stayed  at  home.  They  proceeded  with 
Opoony  and  all  his  train,  and  many  canoes,  to  a  bay  in  Otahah 
called  Obooto-booto,  his  Majesty's  chief  residence.  Here  the 
houses  were  very  large  and  good,  and  the  canoes  also  finer 


AUG.  1769  DANCING 


123 


than  any  the  gentlemen  had  before  seen.  Such  a  prelude 
made  them  expect  much  from  the  owners — a  boat-load  of 
hogs  was  the  least  they  thought  of,  especially  as  they  had 
plenty  of  Spartan  money  to  pay  for  them ;  but,  alack ! 
the  gentlemen  who  had  fatigued  themselves  with  building 
their  houses  chose  to  refresh  themselves  with  eating 
the  hogs,  so  that  after  the  whole  day  was  spent  a  small 
number  only  were  procured  in  proportion  to  what  were 
expected. 

Took  Mr.  Parkinson  to  the  heiva  that  he  might  sketch 
the  dresses.  The  dancing  was  exactly  the  same  as  I  had 
seen  before,  except  that  another  woman  was  added  to  the 
former  two.  The  interludes  of  the  men  were  varied ;  they 
gave  us  five  or  six  which  resembled  much  the  drama  of  an 
English  stage  dance.  Their  names  and  relationships,  as 
they  are  chiefly  one  family,  are :  (1)  Tiarree  no  Horaa,  a 
king  or  chief.  (2)  WTiannooutooa,  wife  to  1.  (3)  Otodbooi, 
sister  to  2.  (4)  Orai,  elder  brother  to  2.  (5)  Tettuanne, 
younger  brother  to  2.  (6)  Otehammena,  dancing  girl.  (7) 
Ouratooa,  do.  (8),  MatteJiea,  father  to  1.  (9)  Opipi,  mother 
to  1. 

8th.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  along  shore  to  gather 
plants,  buy  hogs,  or  anything  else  that  might  occur.  We 
took  our  course  towards  the  heiva,  and  at  last  came  up  with 
it.  It  has  gradually  moved  from  very  near  us  till  now  it  is 
two  leagues  off.  Tupia  tells  us  that  it  will  in  this  manner 
move  gradually  round  the  island.  Our  friends  received  us, 
as  usual,  with  all  manner  of  civility,  dancing,  and  giving  us, 
after  the  amusement,  a  very  good  dinner,  as  well  as  offering 
us  a  quantity  of  their  cloth  as  a  present,  which  we  should 
have  accepted  had  we  not  been  full-stocked  with  it  before. 
We  now  understood  a  little  more  of  the  interludes  than 
formerly.  I  shall  describe  one  as  well  as  I  can.  The  men 
were  divided  into  two  parties,  differing  in  the  colour  of  their 
clothes,  one  brown,  the  other  white.  The  chief  of  the  browns 
gives  a  basket  of  meat  to  his  servants  that  they  might  take 
care  of  it.  The  whites  represent  thieves  who  constantly 
attempt  to  steal  it,  dancing  all  the  time.  Several  different 


124  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

expedients  they  make  use  of  without  success,  till  at  last 
they  find  the  watchmen  asleep ;  they  then  go  gently  up  to 
them,  and  lifting  them  off  from  the  basket,  which  for  security 
they  have  placed  in  their  middle,  they  go  off  with  their 
prize.  The  others  awake  and  dance,  but  seem  to  show  little 
regret  for  their  loss,  or  indeed  hardly  to  miss  the  basket 
at  all. 

9th.  We  resolved  to  sail  as  soon  as  the  people  left  off 
bringing  provisions,  which  about  noon  they  did,  and  we 
again  launched  out  into  the  ocean  in  search  of  what  chance 
and  Tupia  might  direct  us  to. 

13th.  Many  albecores  have  been  about  the  ship  all 
this  evening.  Tupia  took  one,  and  had  not  his  rod  broken, 
would  probably  have  taken  many.  He  used  an  Indian 
fish-hook  made  of  mother-of-pearl,  so  that  it  served  at  the 
same  time  for  hook  and  bait. 

At  noon  to-day,  high  land  in  sight,  which  proves  to  be 
an  island  which  Tupia  calls  Oheteroa. 

14tth.  The  island  of  Oheteroa  was  to  all  appearance  more 
barren  than  anything  we  have  seen  in  these  seas,  the  chief 
produce  seeming  to  be  etoa  (from  the  wood  of  which  the 
people  make  their  weapons)  ;  indeed,  everywhere  along  shore 
where  we  saw  plantations,  the  trees  were  of  this  kind.  It 
is  without  a  reef,  and  the  ground  in  the  bay  we  were  in  was 
so  foul  and  coralline,  that  although  a  ship  might  come  almost 
close  to  the  shore,  she  could  not  possibly  anchor. 

The  people  seemed  strong,  lusty,  and  well  made,  but  were 
rather  browner  than  those  we  have  left  behind ;  they  were 
not  tattowed  like  them,  but  had  instead  black  marks 
about  as  broad  as  my  hand  under  their  armpits,  the  sides 
of  which  marks  were  deeply  indented.  They  had  also 
smaller  circles  round  their  arms  and  legs.  Their  dress 
was  indeed  most  singular,  as  well  as  the  cloth  of  which 
it  was  made.  It  consisted  of  the  same  materials  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  other  islands  make  use  of,  and  was  gener- 
ally dyed  of  a  very  bright  deep  yellow  ;  upon  this  was  spread 
in  some  cases  a  composition,  either  red  or  of  a  dark  lead 
colour,  which  covered  it  like  oil  colour  or  varnish.  Upon 


AUG.   1769 


OHETEROA 


125 


this  again  were  painted  stripes  in  many  different  patterns 
with  infinite  regularity,  much  in  the  same  way  as  lustring 
silks  in  England,  all 
the  straight  lines  upon 
them  being  drawn  with 
such  accuracy  that  we 
were  almost  in  doubt 
whether  or  not  they 


were  stamped  on  with  some  kind  of  press.  The  red  cloth  was 
painted  in  this  manner  with  black,  the  lead-coloured  with 
white.  Of  this  cloth,  generally  the  lead-coloured,  they  had 
on  a  short  jacket  that  reached  about  down  to  their  knees,  and 
made  of  one  piece,  with  a  hole  through  which  they  put  their 
heads,  the  sides  of  which  hole  differed  from  anything  I  have 
seen,  being  stitched  with  long  stitches.  This  was  tied  round 
their  bodies  by  a  piece  of  yellow  cloth  which  passed  behind 
their  necks  and  came  across  the  breasts  in  two  broad  stripes 
crossing  each  other ;  it  was  then  collected  round  the  waist 
in  the  form  of  a  belt,  under  which  was  another  of  the  red 
cloth,  so  that  the  whole  made  a  very  gay  and  warlike 
appearance.  Some  had  on  their  heads  caps,  as  described 
above,  of  the  tails  of  tropic  birds,  but  these  did  not  become 
them  so  well  as  a  piece  of  white  or  lead-coloured  cloth, 
which  most  of  them  had  wound  on  their  heads  like  a  small 
turban. 

Their  arms  consisted  of  long  lances  made  of  the  etoa,  or 
hard  wood,  well  polished  and  sharpened  at  one  end  ;  of  these 
some  were  nearly  twenty  feet  long,  and  scarcely  as  thick  as 
three  fingers ;  they  had  also  clubs  or  pikes  of  the  same 
wood  about  seven  feet  long,  well  polished,  and  sharpened 
at  one  end  into  a  broad  point.  How  expert  they  may 
be  in  the  use  of  these  we  cannot  tell,  but  the  weapons 
themselves  seem  intended  more  for  show  than  use,  as  the 
lance  was  not  pointed  with  stings  of  sting-rays,  and  their 
clubs  or  pikes,  which  must  do  more  execution  by  their 
weight  than  their  sharpness,  were  not  more  than  half  as 
heavy  as  the  smallest  I  have  seen  in  the  other  islands. 
Defensive  weapons  I  saw  none ;  they,  however,  guarded 


126  OTAHITE  TO  OHETEROA  CHAP,  vi 

themselves  against  such  weapons  as  their  own  by  mats 
folded  and  laid  upon  their  breasts  under  their  clothes. 

Of  the  few  things  we  saw  among  the  people,  every  one 
was  ornamented  in  a  manner  infinitely  superior  to  anything 
we  had  hitherto  seen.  Their  cloth  was  of  a  better  colour, 
as  well  as  nicely  painted ;  their  clubs  were  better  cut  and 
polished ;  the  canoe  which  we  saw,  though  very  small  and 
narrow,  was  nevertheless  very  highly  carved  and  ornamented. 
One  thing  particularly  in  her  seemed  to  be  calculated  rather 
as  an  ornament  for  something  that  was  never  intended  to 
go  into  the  water,  and  that  was  two  lines  of  small  white 
feathers  placed  on  the  outside  of  the  cajioe,  and  which  were, 
when  we  saw  them,  thoroughly  wet  with  the  water. 

We  have  now  seen  seventeen  islands  in  these  seas, 
and  have  landed  on  five  of  the  most  important;  of  these 
the  language,  manners,  and  customs  agreed  most  exactly. 
I  should  therefore  be  tempted  to  conclude  that  those 
islands  which  we  have  not  seen  do  not  differ  materially  at 
least  from  the  others.  The  account  I  shall  give  of  them  is 
taken  chiefly  from  Otahite,  where  I  was  well  acquainted  with 
their  policy,  as  I  found  them  to  be  a  people  so  free  from 
deceit  that  I  trusted  myself  among  them  almost  as  freely 
as  I  could  do  in  my  own  country,  sleeping  continually  in 
their  houses  in  the  woods  without  so  much  as  a  single 
companion.  Whether  or  not  I  am  right  in  judging  their 
manners  and  customs  to  be  general  among  these  seas,  any 
one  who  gives  himself  the  trouble  of  reading  this  journal 
through  can  judge  as  well  as  I  myself. 


CHAPTER  VII 

GENERAL    ACCOUNT    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEA   ISLANDS 

Description  of  the  people— Tattowing — Cleanliness— Clothing— Ornaments 
and  head-dress — Houses — 'Food — Produce  of  the  sea — Fruits — Animals 
— Cooking — Mahai- making — Drinking  salt-water — Meals — Women  eat 
apart  from  the  men — Pastimes — Music — Attachment  to  old  customs — 
Making  of  cloth  from  bark — Dyes  and  dyeing — Mats — Manufacture  of 
fishing-nets — Fish-hooks — Carpentry,  etc. — Boats  and  boat-building — 
Fighting,  fishing,  and  travelling  ivahahs — Instability  of  the  boats — 
Paddles,  sails,  and  ornaments  —  Pahies  —  Predicting  the  weather  — 
Astronomy — Measurement  of  time  and  space — Language — Its  resemblance 
to  other  languages — Diseases — Medicine  and  surgery — Funeral  ceremonies 
— Disposal  of  the  dead — Religion — Origin  of  mankind— Gods— Priests — 
Marriage — Mara/is — Bird-gods — Government — Ranks — Army  and  battles 
—Justice. 

ALL  the  islands  I  have  seen  are  very  populous  along  the 
whole  length  of  the  coast,  where  are  generally  large  flats 
covered  with  a  great  many  bread-fruit  and  cocoanut  trees. 
There  are  houses  scarcely  fifty  yards  apart,  with  their  little 
plantations  of  plantains,  the  trees  from  which  they  make 
their  cloth,  etc.  But  the  inland  parts  are  totally  uninhabited, 
except  in  the  valleys,  where  there  are  rivers,  and  even  there 
there  are  but  a  small  proportion  of  people  in  comparison  with 
the  numbers  who  live  upon  the  flats. 

These  people  are  of  the  larger  size  of  Europeans,  all  very 
well  made,  and  some  handsome,  both  men  and  women ;  the 
only  bad  feature  they  have  is  their  noses,  which  are  in 
general  flat,  but  to  balance  this  their  teeth  are  almost  with- 
out exception  even  and  white  to  perfection,  and  the  eyes  of 
the  women  especially  are  full  of  expression  and  fire.  In 
colour  they  differ  very  much ;  those  of  inferior  rank  who 


128    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS    CH.  vn 

are  obliged  in  the  exercise  of  their  profession,  fishing 
especially,  to  be  much  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  are 
of  a  dark  brown,  while  those  of  superior  rank,  who  spend 
most  of  their  time  in  their  houses  under  shelter,  are  seldom 
browner  (the  women  particularly)  than  that  kind  of  brunette 
which  many  in  Europe  prefer  to  the  finest  red  and  white. 
Complexion,  indeed,  they  seldom  have,  though  some  I  have 
seen  show  a  blush  very  manifestly ;  this  is  perhaps  owing 
to  the  thickness  of  their  skin,  but  that  fault  is  in  my 
opinion  well  compensated  by  their  infinite  smoothness,  much 
superior  to  anything  I  have  met  with  in  Europe. 

The  men,  as  I  have  before  said,  are  rather  large.  I 
have  measured  one  6  feet  3  J  inches.  The  superior  women 
are  also  as  tall  as  Europeans,  but  the  inferior  sort  are 
generally  small.  Their  hair  is  almost  universally  black 
and  rather  coarse,  this  the  women  wear  always  cropped 
short  round  their  ears ;  the  men,  on  the  other  hand,  wear 
it  in  many  various  ways,  sometimes  cropping  it  short,  some- 
times allowing  it  to  grow  very  long,  and  tying  it  at  the 
top  of  their  heads  or  letting  it  hang  loose  on  their  shoulders, 
etc.  Their  beards  they  all  wear  in  many  different  fashions, 
always,  however,  plucking  out  a  large  part  of  them  and 
keeping  what  is  left  very  clean  and  neat.  Both  sexes 
eradicate  every  hair  from  under  their  armpits,  and  they 
looked  upon  it  as  a  great  mark  of  uncleanliness  in  us  that 
we  did  not  do  the  same. 

During  our  stay  in  these  islands  I  saw  some,  not  more 
than  five  or  six,  who  were  a  total  exception  to  all  I  have 
said  above.  They  were  whiter  even  than  we,  but  of  a  dead 
colour,  like  that  of  the  nose  of  a  white  horse ;  their  eyes, 
hair,  eyebrows,  and  beards  were  also  white ;  they  were 
universally  short-sighted,  and  always  looked  unwholesome, 
the  skin  scurfy  and  scaly,  and  the  eye  often  full  of  rheum. 
As  no  two  of  them  had  any  connection  with  one  another, 
I  conclude  that  the  difference  of  colour,  etc.,  was  totally 
accidental,  and  did  not  at  all  run  in  families. 

So  much  for  their  persons.  I  shall  now  mention  their 
methods  of  painting  their  bodies,  or  tattow  as  it  is  called  in 


1769  TATTOWING  129 

their  language.  This  they  do  by  inlaying  black  under  their 
skins,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  indelible.  Every  one  is 
thus  marked  in  different  parts  of  his  body,  according  maybe 
to  his  humour,  or  different  circumstances  of  his  life.  Some 
have  ill-designed  figures  of  men,  birds  or  dogs  ;  but  they 
more  generally  have  a  Z,  either  plain — as  is  generally  the 
case  with  the  women  on  every  joint  of  their  fingers  and  toes 
and  often  round  the  outside  of  their  feet — or  in  different 
figures  such  as  squares,  circles,  crescents,  etc.,  which  both 
sexes  have  on  their  arms  and  legs ;  in  short,  they  have  an 
infinite  diversity  of  figure  in  which  they  place  this  mark. 
Some  of  them  we  were  told  had  significations ;  but  these  we 
never  learnt  to  our  satisfaction.  Their  faces  are  generally 
left  without  any  marks  ;  I  did  not  see  more  than  one  instance 
to  the  contrary.  Some  few  old  men  had  the  greater  part 
of  their  bodies  covered  with  large  patches  of  black,  which 
ended  in  deep  indentations,  like  coarse  imitations  of  flame ; 
these  we  were  told  were  not  natives  of  Otahite,  but  came 
from  a  low  island  called  Noonoora.  Although  they  vary  so 
much  in  the  application  of  the  figures — I  have  mentioned 
that  both  the  quantity  and  situation  seem  to  depend  entirely 
upon  the  humour  of  each  individual — yet  all  the  islanders  I 
have  seen  (except  those  of  Oheteroa)  agree  in  having  their 
buttocks  covered  with  a  deep  black.  Over  this  most  have 
arches,  which  are  often  a  quarter  of  an  inch  broad,  drawn 
one  above  the  other  as  high  as  their  short  ribs,  and  neatly 
worked  on  their  edges  with  indentations,  etc.  These  arches 
are  their  great  pride  :  both  men  and  women  show  them  with 
great  pleasure,  whether  as  a  mark  of  beauty,  or  a  proof  of 
their  perseverance  and  resolution  in  bearing  pain  I  cannot 
tell.  The  pain  in  doing  this  is  almost  intolerable,  especially 
the  arches  upon  the  loins,  which  are  so  much  more  susceptible 
to  pain  than  the  fleshy  buttocks. 

The  colour  they  use  is  lamp  black  prepared  from  the 
smoke  of  a  kind  of  oily  nut,  used  by  them  instead  of  candles. 
This  is  kept  in  cocoanut  shells,  and  occasionally  mixed  with 
water  for  use.  Their  instruments  for  pricking  this  under 
the  skin  are  made  of  flat  bone  or  shell ;  the  lower  part  of 

K 


130    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

which  is  cut  into  sharp  teeth,  numbering  from  three  to  twenty, 
according  to  the  purposes  it  is  to  be  used  for ;  the  upper 
end  is  fastened  to  a  handle.  The  teeth  are  dipped  into  the 
black  liquor,  and  then  driven  by  quick  sharp  blows,  struck 
upon  the  handle  with  a  stick  used  for  that  purpose,  into  the 
skin,  so  deeply  that  every  stroke  is  followed  by  a  small 
quantity  of  blood,  or  serum  at  least,  and  the  part  so  marked 
remains  sore  for  many  days  before  it  heals. 

I  saw  this  operation  performed  on  the  5th  of  July  on 
the  buttocks  of  a  girl  about  fourteen  years  of  age ;  for  some 
time  she  bore  it  with  great  resolution,  but  afterwards  began 
to  complain;  and  in  a  little  time  grew  so  outrageous  that 
all  the  threats  and  force  her  friends  could  use  could  hardly 
oblige  her  to  endure  it.  I  had  occasion  to  remain  in  an 
adjoining  house  an  hour  at  least  after  this  operation  began, 
and  yet  went  away  before  it  was  finished,  in  which  time 
only  one  side  was  blacked,  the  other  having  been  done  some 
weeks  before. 

It  is  performed  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen, 
and  so  essential  is  it  that  I  have  never  seen  one  single 
person  of  years  of  maturity  without  it.  What  can  be  a 
sufficient  inducement  to  suffer  so  much  pain  is  difficult  to 
say ;  not  one  Indian  (though  I  have  asked  hundreds)  would 
ever  give  me  the  least  reason  for  it.  Possibly  superstition 
may  have  something  to  do  with  it,  nothing  else  in  my  opinion 
could  be  a  sufficient  cause  for  so  apparently  absurd  a  custom. 
As  for  the  smaller  marks  upon  the  fingers,  arms,  etc.,  they 
may  be  intended  only  for  beauty ;  our  European  ladies  have 
found  the  convenience  of  patches,  and  something  of  that 
kind  is  more  useful  here  where  the  best  complexions  are 
much  inferior  to  theirs  in  England ;  and  yet  whiteness  is 
esteemed  the  first  essential  in  beauty. 

They  are  certainly  as  cleanly  a  people  as  any  under  the 
sun ;  they  all  wash  their  whole  bodies  in  running  water  as 
soon  as  they  rise  in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  before  they 
sleep  at  night.  If  they  have  not  such  water  near  their 
houses,  as  often  happens,  they  will  go  a  good  way  to  it.  As 
for  their  lice,  had  they  the  means  only  they  would  certainly 


1769  DRESS  OF  OTAHITE  131 

be  as  free  from  them  as  any  inhabitants  of  so  warm  a  climate 
could  be.  Those  to  whom  combs  were  given  proved  this, 
for  those  with  whom  I  was  best  acquainted  kept  themselves 
very  clean  during  our  stay  by  the  use  of  them.  Eating  lice 
is  a  custom  which  none  but  children,  and  those  of  the  inferior 
people,  can  be  charged  with.  Their  clothes  also,  as  well  as 
their  persons,  are  kept  almost  without  spot  or  stain ;  the 
superior  people  spend  much  of  their  time  in  repairing,  dye- 
ing, etc.,  the  cloth,  which  seems  to  be  a  genteel  amusement 
for  the  ladies  here  as  it  is  in  Europe. 

Their  clothes  are  either  of  a  kind  of  cloth  made  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree,  or  mats  of  several  different  sorts  ;  of  all  these 
and  of  their  manner  of  making  them  I  shall  speak  in  another 
place ;  here  I  shall  only  mention  their  method  of  covering 
and  adorning  their  persons,  which  is  most  diverse,  as  they 
never  form  dresses,  or  sew  any  two  pieces  together.  A 
piece  of  cloth,  generally  two  yards  wide  and  eleven  long, 
is  sufficient  clothing  for  any  one,  and  this  is  put  on  in  a 
thousand  different  ways,  often  very  genteelly.  Their  formal 
dress  however  is,  among  the  women,  a  kind  of  petticoat,  parou, 
wrapped  round  their  hips,  and  reaching  to  about  the  middle 
of  their  legs;  and  one,  two,  or  three  pieces  of  thick  cloth, 
about  two  and  a  half  yards  long  and  one  wide,  called  tebuta, 
through  a  hole  in  the  middle  of  which  they  put  their  heads, 
and  suffer  the  sides  to  hang  before  and  behind,  the  open 
edges  serving  to  give  their  arms  liberty  of  movement.  Round 
the  ends  of  this,  about  as  high  as  their  waists,  are  tied  two 
or  three  large  pieces  of  thin  cloth,  and  sometimes  one  or  two 
more  thrown  loosely  over  their  shoulders,  for  the  rich  seem 
to  take  the  greatest  pride  in  wearing  a  large  quantity  of  cloth. 
The  dress  of  the  men  differs  but  little  from  this,  their  bodies 
are  rather  more  bare,  and  instead  of  the  petticoat  they  have 
a  piece  of  cloth  (maro)  passed  between  their  legs  and  round 
their  waists,  which  gives  them  rather  more  liberty  to  use 
their  limbs  than  the*  women's  dress  will  allow.  Thus  much 
of  the  richer  people ;  the  poorer  sort  have  only  a  smaller 
allowance  of  cloth  given  them  from  the  tribes  or  families  to 
which  they  belong,  and  must  use  that  to  the  best  advantage. 


132    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  richest  men  to  come  to 
see  us  with  a  large  quantity  of  cloth  rolled  round  the  loins, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  body  naked  ;  though  the  cloth  wrapped 
round  them  was  sufficient  to  have  clothed  a  dozen  people. 
The  women  at  sunset  always  bared  their  bodies  down  to  the 
waist,  which  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  easy  undress  to  them ; 
as  it  is  to  our  ladies  to  pull  off  any  finery  that  has  been  used 
during  the  course  of  the  day,  and  change  it  for  a  loose  gown 
or  capuchin. 

Both  sexes  shade  their  faces  from  the  sun  with  little 
bonnets  of  cocoanut  leaves,  which  they  make  occasionally 
in  a  very  few  minutes ;  some  have  these  made  of  fine  mat- 
ting, but  that  is  less  common.  Of  matting  they  have 
several  sorts  ;  some  very  fine,  which  is  used  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  cloth  for  their  dresses,  chiefly  in  rainy 
weather,  as  the  cloth  will  not  bear  the  least  wet. 

Ornaments  they  have  very  few.  They  are  very  fond  of 
earrings,  but  wear  them  only  in  one  ear.  When  we  arrived 
they  had  their  own  earrings  made  of  shell,  stone,  berries, 
red  peas,  and  some  small  pearls,  of  which  they  wore  three 
tied  together;  but  our  beads  very  quickly  supplied  their 
place.  They  are  also  very  fond  of  flowers,  especially  of  the 
Cape  jasmine,  of  which  they  have  great  plenty  planted  near 
their  houses.  These  they  stick  into  the  holes  of  their  ears 
and  into  their  hair,  if  they  have  enough  of  them,  which  is 
but  seldom.  The  men  wear  feathers,  often  the  tails  of  tropic 
birds  stuck  upright  in  their  hair.  They  have  also  a  kind 
of  wig  made  upon  one  string,  of  the  hair  of  men  or  dogs,  or 
of  cocoanut,  which  they  tie  under  their  hair  at  the  back  of  the 
head.  I  have  seen  them  also  wear  whimsical  garlands  made 
of  a  variety  of  flowers  stuck  into  a  piece  of  the  rind  of 
plantain,  or  of  scarlet  peas  stuck  upon  a  piece  of  wood  with 
gum,  but  these  are  not  common.  But  their  great  pride  in 
dress  seems  to  be  centred  in  what  they  call  tamou,  which  is 
human  hair  plaited  scarcely  thicker  than  common  thread  ;  of 
this  I  may  easily  affirm  that  I  have  seen  pieces  above  a  mile  1 

1  21st  January  1772,  measured  one  6144  feet,  another  7294  feet.    (Note  ty 
Batiks.) 


1769  DWELLINGS  133 

in  length,  worked  on  end  without  a  single  knot ;  and  I 
have  seen  five  or  six  of  such  pieces  wound  round  the  head  of 
one  woman,  the  effect  of  which,  if  done  with  taste,  was  most 
becoming.  Their  dancing  dresses  I  have  described  in  the 
island  of  Ulhietea ;  and  that  of  the  Heiva  I  shall  when  I 
come  to  their  mourning  ceremonies.  They  have  also  several 
others  suited  to  particular  ceremonies  which  I  had  not  an 
opportunity  of  seeing,  although  I  was  desirous  of  doing  so, 
as  the  singular  taste  of  those  I  did  see  promised  much  novelty, 
at  least,  if  not  something  worth  imitation,  in  whatever  they 
take  pains  with. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  the  oil  (monoe  it  is  called  in 
their  language)  with  which  they  anoint  their  heads,  a  custom 
more  disagreeable  to  Europeans  than  any  other  among  them. 
This  is  made  of  cocoanut  oil,  in  which  some  sweet  woods 
or  flowers  are  infused.  It  is  most  commonly  very  rancid, 
and  consequently  the  wearers  of  it  smell  most  disagreeably ; 
at  first  we  found  it  so,  but  very  little  custom  reconciled  me, 
at  least,  completely  to  it. 

The  houses,  or  rather  dwellings,  of  these  people  are 
admirably  adapted  to  the  continual  warmth  of  the  climate. 
They  do  not  build  them  in  villages  or  towns,  but  separate 
each  from  the  other,  according  to  the  size  of  the  estate  the 
owner  of  the  house  possesses.  They  are  always  in  the 
woods ;  and  no  more  ground  is  cleared  for  each  house  than 
is  just  sufficient  to  hinder  the  dropping  off  the  branches  from 
rotting  the  thatch  with  which  they  are  covered,  so  that  you 
step  from  the  house  immediately  under  shade,  and  that  the 
most  beautiful  imaginable.  No  country  can  boast  such 
delightful  walks  as  this ;  for  the  whole  plains  where  the 
people  live  are  covered  with  groves  of  bread-fruit  and  cocoa- 
nut  trees  without  underwood.  These  are  intersected  in  all 
directions  by  the  paths  which  go  from  one  house  to  the 
other,  so  that  the  whole  country  is  one  shade,  than  which 
nothing  can  be  more  grateful  in  a  climate  where  the  sun  has 
so  powerful  an  influence.  The  houses  are  built  without 
walls,  so  that  the  air,  cooled  by  the  shade  of  the  trees,  has 
free  access  in  whatever  direction  it  happens  to  blow.  I 


134    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

shall  describe  one  of  the  middle  size,  which  will  give  an 
idea  of  all  the  rest,  as  they  differ  scarcely  at  all  in  fashion. 

Its  length  was  24  feet,  breadth  11  feet,  extreme  height 
8-J-  feet,  height  of  the  eaves  3-J-  feet ;  it  consisted  of  nothing 
more  than  a  thatched  roof  of  the  same  form  as  in  England, 
supported  by  three  rows  of  posts  or  pillars,  one  on  each 
side,  and  one  in  the  middle.  The  floor  was  covered  some 
inches  deep  with  soft  hay,  upon  which  here  and  there  were 
laid  mats  for  the  convenience  of  sitting  down.  This  is 
almost  the  only  furniture,  as  few  houses  have  more  than 
one  stool,  the  property  of  the  master  of  the  family,  and 
constantly  used  by  him  ;  most  are  entirely  without  the  stool. 
These  houses  serve  them  chiefly  to  sleep  in,  and  make  their 
cloth,  etc. ;  they  generally  eat  in  the  open  air  under  the 
shade  of  the  nearest  tree,  if  the  weather  is  not  rainy.  The 
mats  which  serve  them  to  sit  upon  in  the  daytime  are  also 
their  beds  at  night ;  the  cloth  which  they  wear  in  the  day 
serves  for  covering ;  and  a  little  wooden  stool,  a  block  of 
wood,  or  bundle  of  cloth,  for  a  pillow.  Their  order  is  gener- 
ally this :  near  the  middle  of  the  room  sleep  the  master 
of  the  house  and  his  wife,  and  with  them  the  rest  of  the 
married  people ;  next  to  them  the  unmarried  women  ;  next  to 
them  again,  at  some  small  distance,  the  unmarried  men ;  the 
servants  (toutous)  generally  lie  in  the  open  air,  or  if  it  rains, 
come  just  within  shelter. 

Besides  these,  there  is  another  much  larger  kind  of 
house.  One  in  our  neighbourhood  measured  in  length  162 
feet,  breadth  28^  feet,  height  of  one  of  the  middle  row  of 
pillars  18  feet.  These  are  conjectured  to  be  common  to  all 
the  inhabitants  of  a  district,  raised  and  kept  up  by  their 
joint  labour.  They  serve,  maybe,  for  any  meetings  or  con- 
sultations, or  for  the  reception  of  any  visitors  of  con- 
sequence, etc.  Such  we  have  also  seen  used  as  dwelling- 
houses  by  the  most  important  people.  Some  of  them  were 
much  larger  than  this  which  I  have  here  described. 

In  the  article  of  food  these  happy  people  may  almost  be 
said  to  be  exempt  from  the  curse  of  our  forefathers ;  scarcely 
can  it  be  said  that  they  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of 


1769  FOOD  135 

their  brow,  when  their  chief  sustenance,  bread-fruit,  is  pro- 
cured with  no  more  trouble  than  that  of  climbing  a  tree 
and  pulling  it  down.  Not  that  the  trees  grew  here 
spontaneously,  but,  if  a  man  in  the  course  of  his  life  planted 
ten  such  trees  (which,  if  well  done,  might  take  the  labour 
of  an  hour  or  thereabouts),  he  would  as  completely  fulfil  his 
duty  to  his  own  as  well  as  future  generations,  as  we,  natives 
of  less  temperate  climates,  can  do  by  toiling  in  the  cold  of 
winter  to  sow,  and  in  the  heat  of  summer  to  reap,  the 
annual  produce  of  our  soil ;  which,  when  once  gathered  into 
the  barn,  must  again  be  re-sowed  and  re-reaped  as  often  as  the 
colds  of  winter  or  the  heats  of  summer  return  to  make  such 
labour  disagreeable. 

0  fortunatos  nimium,  sua  si  bona  norint 

may  most  truly  be  applied  to  these  people;  benevolent 
nature  has  not  only  provided  them  with  necessaries,  but 
with  an  abundance  of  superfluities.  The  sea,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  which  they  always  live,  supplies  them  with 
vast  variety  of  fish,  better  than  is  generally  met  with 
between  the  tropics,  but  these  they  get  not  without  some 
trouble.  Every  one  desires  to  have  them,  and  there  is  not 
enough  for  all,  though  while  we  remained  in  these  seas  we 
saw  more  species  perhaps  than  our  island  can  boast  of. 
I  speak  now  only  of  what  is  more  properly  called  fish,  but 
almost  everything  which  comes  out  of  the  sea  is  eaten  and 
esteemed  by  these  people.  Shell-fish,  lobsters,  crabs,  even 
sea  insects,  and  what  the  seamen  call  blubbers  of  many 
kinds,  conduce  to  their  support ;  some  of  the  latter,  indeed, 
which  are  of  a  tough  nature,  are  prepared  by  suffering  them 
to  stink.  Custom  will  make  almost  any  meat  palatable, 
and  the  women,  especially,  are  fond  of  this,  though  after 
they  had  eaten  it,  I  confess  I  was  not  extremely  fond  of 
their  company. 

Besides  the  bread-fruit  the  earth  almost  spontaneously 
produces  cocoanuts ;  bananas  of  thirteen  sorts,  the  best  I  have 
ever  eaten ;  plantains,  but  indifferent ;  a  fruit  not  unlike  an 
apple,  which,  when  ripe,  is  very  pleasant ;  sweet  potatoes  ; 


136    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

yams ;  cocos,  a  kind  of  arum,  known  in  the  East  Indies  by 
the  name  of  ffabava  ; l  a  fruit  known  there  by  the  name  of 
eng.  mallow,2  and  considered  most  delicious ;  sugar-cane, 
which  the  inhabitants  eat  raw ;  a  root  of  the  salop  kind, 
called  by  the  inhabitants  pea ; 3  the  root  also  of  a  plant 
called  ethee ;  and  a  fruit  in  a  pod  like  a  large  hull  of  a 
kidney  bean,4  which,  when  roasted,  eats  much  like  a  chestnut, 
and  is  called  ahee.  Besides  these  there  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree 
called  wharra,5  in  appearance  like  a  pine-apple ;  the  fruit  of 
a  tree  called  nono  ;  the  roots,  and  perhaps  leaves  of  a  fern ; 
and  the  roots  of  a  plant  called  theve :  which  four  are  eaten 
only  by  the  poorer  sort  of  people  in  times  of  scarcity. 

Of  tame  animals  they  have  hogs,  fowls,  and  dogs,  which 
latter  we  learned  to  eat  from  them ;  and  few  were  there  of 
the  nicest  of  us  but  allowed  that  a  South  Sea  dog  was  next 
to  an  English  lamb.  This  indeed  must  be  said  in  their 
favour,  that  they  live  entirely  upon  vegetables  ;  probably  our 
dogs  in  England  would  not  eat  half  as  well.  Their  pork 
certainly  is  most  excellent,  though  sometimes  too  fat ;  their 
fowls  are  not  a  bit  better,  rather  worse  maybe,  than  ours 
at  home,  and  often  very  tough.  Though  they  seem  to 
esteem  flesh  very  highly,  yet  in  all  the  islands  I  have  seen, 
the  quantity  they  have  of  it  is  very  unequal  to  the 
number  of  their  people ;  it  is  therefore  seldom  used  among 
them,  even  the  principal  chiefs  do  not  have  it  every  day  or 
even  every  week,  though  some  of  them  had  pigs  that  we 
saw  quartered  upon  different  estates,  as  we  send  cocks  to 
walk  in  England.  When  any  of  these  chiefs  kills  a  hog, 
it  seems  to  be  divided  almost  equally  among  all  his 
dependents,  he  himself  taking  little  more  than  the  rest. 
Vegetables  are  their  chief  food,  and  of  these  they  eat  a  large 
quantity. 

Cookery  seems  to  have  been  but  little  studied  here ; 
they  have  only  two  methods  of  applying  fire.  Broiling 

1  Colocasia  antiquorum,  Schott.,  better  known  by  its  New  Zealand  name 
taro  (see  p.  253).  2  Hibiscus  esculentus,  Linn.  ?. 

3  Tacca  pinnalifida,  Forst.  4  Lablab  vulgaris,  Savi. 

5  Pandanus  odoratissimus,  Linn.  f. 


1769  COOKERY  I37 

or  baking,  as  we  called  it,  is  done  thus :  a  hole  is  dug,  the 
depth  and  size  varying  according  to  what  is  to  be  prepared, 
but  seldom  exceeding  a  foot  in  depth;  in  this  is  made 
a  heap  of  wood  and  stones  laid  alternately,  fire  is  then  put 
to  it,  which,  by  the  time  it  has  consumed  the  wood,  has 
heated  the  stones  just  sufficiently  to  discolour  anything 
which  touches  them.  The  heap  is  then  divided,  half  is  left 
in  the  hole,  the  bottom  being  paved  with  them,  and  on  them 
any  kind  of  provisions  are  laid,  always  neatly  wrapped  up  in 
leaves.  Above  these  again  are  laid  the  remaining  hot 
stones,  then  leaves  again  to  the  thickness  of  three  or  four 
inches,  and  over  them  any  ashes,  rubbish  or  dirt  that  is  at 
hand.  In  this  situation  the  food  remains  about  two  hours, 
in  which  time  I  have  seen  a  middling-sized  hog  very  well 
done ;  indeed,  I  am  of  opinion  that  victuals  dressed  in  this 
way  are  more  juicy,  if  not  more  equally  'done,  than  when 
cooked  by  any  of  our  European  methods,  large  fish  more 
especially.  Bread-fruit  cooked  in  this  manner  becomes  soft, 
and  something  like  a  boiled  potato,  though  not  quite  so 
farinaceous  as  a  good  one.  Of  this  two  or  three  dishes  are 
made  by  beating  it  with  a  stone  pestle  till  it  becomes  a 
paste,  mixing  water  or  cocoanut  liquor  with  it,  and  adding 
ripe  plantains,  bananas,  sour  paste,  etc. 

As  I  have  mentioned  sour  paste,  I  will  proceed  to 
describe  what  it  is.  Bread-fruit,  by  what  I  can  find,  remains 
in  season  during  only  nine  or  ten  of  their  thirteen  months, 
so  that  a  reserve  of  food  must  be  made  for  those  months 
when  they  are  without  it.  For  this  purpose,  the  fruit  is 
gathered  when  just  upon  the  point  of  ripening,  and  laid  in 
heaps,  where  it  undergoes  a  fermentation,  and  becomes  dis- 
agreeably sweet.  The  core  is  then  taken  out,  which  is 
easily  done,  as  a  slight  pull  at  the  stalk  draws  it  out  entire, 
and  the  rest  of  the  fruit  is  thrown  into  a  hole  dug  for  that 
purpose,  generally  in  their  houses.  The  sides  and  bottom 
of  this  hole  are  neatly  lined  with  grass,  the  whole  is  covered 
with  leaves,  and  heavy  stones  laid  upon  them.  Here  it 
undergoes  a  second  fermentation  and  becomes  sourish,  in 
which  condition  it  will  keep,  as  they  told  me,  many  months. 


138    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

Custom  has,  I  suppose,  made  this  agreeable  to  their  palates, 
though  we  disliked  it  extremely  ;  we  seldom  saw  them  make 
a  meal  without  some  of  it  in  some  shape  or  form. 

As  the  whole  making  of  this  mahie,  as  they  call  it, 
depends  upon  fermentation,  I  suppose  it  does  not  always 
succeed;  it  is  always  done  by  the  old  women,  who  make  a 
kind  of  superstitious  mystery  of  it,  no  one  except  the  people 
employed  by  them  being  allowed  to  come  even  into  that 
part  of  the  house  where  it  is.  I  myself  spoiled  a  large 
heap  of  it  only  by  inadvertently  touching  some  leaves  that 
lay  upon  it  as  I  walked  by  the  outside  of  the  house  where 
it  was ;  the  old  directress  of  it  told  me  that  from  that 
circumstance  it  would  most  certainly  fail,  and  immediately 
pulled  it  down  before  my  face,  who  did  less  regret 
the  mischief  I  had  done,  as  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  preparation,  which,  perhaps,  I  should  not  other- 
wise have  been  allowed  to  do. 

To  this  plain  diet,  prepared  with  so  much  simplicity, 
salt  water  is  the  universal  sauce ;  those  who  live  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  the  sea  are  never  without  it,  keeping 
it  in  large  bamboos  set  up  against  the  sides  of  their  houses. 
When  they  eat,  a  cocoanut-shell  full  of  it  always  stands 
near  them,  into  which  they  dip  every  morsel,  especially  of 
fish,  and  often  leave  the  whole  soaking  in  it,  drinking  at 
intervals  large  sups  of  it  out  of  their  hands,  so  that  a  man 
may  use  half  a  pint  of  it  at  a  meal.  They  have  also  a 
sauce  made  of  the  kernels  of  cocoanuts  fermented  until 
they  dissolve  into  a  buttery  paste,  and  beaten  up  with  salt 
water ;  the  taste  of  this  is  very  strong,  and  at  first  was  to 
me  most  abominably  nauseous.  A  very  little  use,  however, 
reconciled  me  to  it,  so  much  so  that  I  should  almost  prefer 
it  to  our  own  sauces  with  fish.  It  is  not  common  among 
them,  possibly  it  is  thought  ill-management  among  them  to 
use  cocoanuts  so  lavishly,  or  we  were  on  the  islands  at  a 
time  when  they  were  scarcely  ripe  enough  for  this  purpose. 

Small  fish  they  often  eat  raw,  and  sometimes  large  ones. 
I  myself,  by  being  constantly  with  them,  learnt  to  do  the 
same,  insomuch  that  I  have  often  made  meals  of  raw  fish 


1769  NATIVE  MEALS  139 

and  bread-fruit,  by  which  I  learnt  that  with  my  stomach  at 
least  it  agreed  as  well  as  if  dressed,  and,  if  anything,  was 
still  easier  of  digestion,  however  contrary  this  may  appear 
to  the  common  opinion  of  the  people  at  home. 

Drink  they  have  none  except  water  and  cocoanut  juice, 
nor  do  they  seem  to  have  any  method  of  intoxication  among 
them.  Some  there  were  who  drank  pretty  freely  of  our 
liquors,  and  in  a  few  instances  became  very  drunk,  but 
seemed  far  from  pleased  with  their  intoxication,  the  indi- 
viduals afterwards  shunning  a  repetition  of  it,  instead  of 
greedily  desiring  it,  as  most  Indians  are  said  to  do. 

Their  tables,  or  at  least  their  apparatus  for  eating,  are 
set  out  with  great  neatness,  though  the  small  quantity  of 
their  furniture  will  not  admit  of  much  elegance.  I  will 
describe  the  manner  in  which  that  of  their  principal  people 
is  served.  They  commonly  eat  alone,  unless  some  stranger 
makes  a  second  in  their  mess.  The  man  usually  sits 
under  the  shade  of  the  nearest  tree,  or  on  the  shady  side 
of  the  house.  A  large  quantity  of  leaves,  either  of  bread- 
fruit or  banana,  are  neatly  spread  before  him,  and  serve 
instead  of  a  table-cloth.  A  basket  containing  his  provisions 
is  then  set  by  him,  and  two  cocoanut-shells,  one  full  of 
fresh,  the  other  of  salt,  water.  He  begins  by  washing  his 
hands  and  mouth  thoroughly  with  the  fresh  water,  a  process 
which  he  repeats  almost  continually  throughout  the  whole 
meal.  Suppose  that  his  provisions  consist  (as  they  often  did) 
of  two  or  three  bread-fruits,  one  or  two  small  fish  about  as  big 
as  an  English  perch,  fourteen  or  fifteen  ripe  bananas  or  half 
as  many  apples.  He  takes  half  a  bread-fruit,  peels  off  the 
rind,  and  picks  out  the  core  with  his  nails ;  he  then  crams 
his  mouth  as  full  with  it  as  it  can  possibly  hold,  and  while 
he  chews  that,  unwraps  the  fish  from  the  leaves  in  which 
they  have  remained  tied  up  since  they  were  dressed,  and 
breaks  one  of  them  into  the  salt  water.  The  rest,  as  well 
as  the  remains  of  the  bread-fruit,  lie  before  him  upon  the 
leaves.  He  generally  gives  a  fish,  or  part  of  one,  to  some 
one  of  his  dependents,  many  of  whom  sit  round  him,  and 
then  takes  up  a  very  small  piece  of  that  which  he  has 


140    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

broken  into  the  salt  water  in  the  ends  of  all  the  fingers  in 
one  hand,  and  sucks  it  into  his  mouth  to  get  as  much  salt 
water  as  possible,  every  now  and  then  taking  a  small  sup 
of  it,  either  out  of  the  palm  of  his  hand  or  out  of  the 
cocoanut-shell. 

In  the  meanwhile  one  of  the  attendants  has  prepared 
a  young  cocoanut  by  peeling  off  the  outer  rind  with  his 
teeth,  an  operation  which  at  first  appears  very  surprising 
to  Europeans,  but  depends  so  much  upon  a  knack,  that 
before  we  left  the  island,  many  of  us  were  ourselves  able 
to  do  it,  even  myself,  who  can  scarce  crack  a  nut.  When 
he  chooses  to  drink,  the  master  takes  this  from  him,  and, 
boring  a  hole  through  the  shell  with  his  finger,  or  breaking 
the  nut  with  a  stone,  drinks  or  sucks  out  the  water.  When 
he  has  eaten  his  bread-fruit  and  fish,  he  begins  with  his 
plantains,  one  of  which  makes  no  more  than  a  mouthful, 
if  they  are  as  big  as  black  puddings.  If  he  has  apples  a 
shell  is  necessary  to  peel  them  ;  one  is  picked  off  the  ground, 
where  there  are  always  plenty,  and  tossed  to  him ;  with 
this  he  scrapes  or  cuts  off  the  skin,  rather  awkwardly,  as  he 
wastes  almost  half  the  apple  in  doing  it.  If  he  has  any 
tough  kind  of  meat  instead  of  fish,  he  must  have  a  knife, 
for  which  purpose  a  piece  of  bamboo  is  tossed  to  him,  of 
which  he  in  a  moment  makes  one,  by  splitting  it  transversely 
with  his  nail.  With  this  he  can  cut  tough  meat  or  tendons 
at  least  as  readily  as  we  can  with  a  common  knife.  All 
this  time  one  of  his  people  has  been  employed  in  beating 
bread-fruit  with  a  stone  pestle  and  a  block  of  wood ;  by 
much  beating  and  sprinkling  with  water,  it  is  reduced  to 
the  consistence  of  soft  paste ;  he  then  takes  a  vessel  like  a 
butcher's  tray,  and  in  it  lays  his  paste,  mixing  it  with 
either  bananas,  sour  paste,  or  making  it  up  alone,  according 
to  the  taste  of  his  master ;  to  this  he  adds  water,  pouring  it 
on  by  degrees,  and  squeezing  it  often  through  his  hand  till 
it  comes  to  the  consistence  of  a  thick  custard.  A  large 
cocoanut-shell  full  of  this  he  then  sets  before  his  master, 
who  sups  it  down  as  we  should  a  custard,  if  we  had  not  a 
spoon  to  eat  it  with.  His  dinner  is  then  finished  by 


1769  NATIVE  MEALS 


141 


washing  his  hands  and  mouth,  cleaning  the  cocoanut- shells 
and  putting  anything  that  may  be  left  into  the  basket 
again. 

It  may  be  thought  that  I  have  given  rather  too  large 
a  quantity  of  provision  to  my  eater,  when  I  say  that  he  has 
eaten  three  bread-fruits,  each  bigger  than  two  fists,  two  or 
three  fish,  fourteen  or  fifteen  plantains  or  bananas,  each,  if 
they  are  large,  six  or  nine  inches  long  and  four  or  five 
round,  and  concluded  his  dinner  with  about  a  quart  of  a  food 
as  substantial  as  the  thickest  unbaked  custard.  But  this  I 
do  affirm,  that  it  is  but  few  of  the  many  I  was  acquainted 
with  that  eat  less,  while  many  eat  a  good  deal  more.  How- 
ever, I  shall  not  insist  that  any  man  who  may  read  this 
should  believe  it  as  an  article  of  faith ;  I  shall  be  content  if 
politeness  makes  him  think,  as  Joe  Miller's  friend  said : 
"  Well,  sir,  as  you  say  so,  I  believe  it,  but  by  God,  had  I 
seen  it  myself,  I  should  have  doubted  it  exceedingly." 

I  have  said  that  they  seldom  eat  together ;  the  better 
sort  hardly  ever  do  so.  Even  two  brothers  or  two  sisters 
have  each  their  respective  baskets,  one  of  which  contains 
victuals,  the  other  cocoanut-shells,  etc.,  for  the  furniture  of 
their  separate  tables.  These  were  brought  every  day  to  our 
tents  to  those  of  our  friends  who,  having  come  from  a 
distance,  chose  to  spend  the  whole  day,  or  sometimes  two  or 
three  days  in  our  company.  These  two  relations  would  go 
out,  and  sitting  down  upon  the  ground  within  a  few  yards 
of  each  other,  turn  their  faces  different  ways,  and  make 
their  meals  without  saying  a  word  to  each  other. 

The  women  carefully  abstain  from  eating  with  the  men, 
or  even  any  of  the  victuals  that  have  been  prepared  for 
them ;  all  their  food  is  prepared  separately  by  boys,  and 
kept  in  a  shed  by  itself,  where  it  is  looked  after  by  the  same 
boys  who  attend  them  at  their  meals.  Notwithstanding 
this,  when  we  visited  them  at  their  houses,  the  women  with 
whom  we  had  any  particular  acquaintance  or  friendship 
would  constantly  ask  us  to  partake  of  their  meals,  which  we 
often  did,  eating  out  of  the  same  basket  and  drinking  out 
of  the  same  cup.  The  old  women,  however,  would  by  no 


142    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

means  allow  the  same  liberty,  but  would  esteem  their 
victuals  polluted  if  we  touched  them  ;  in  some  instances  I 
have  seen  them  throw  them  away  when  we  had  inadvert- 
ently defiled  them  by  handling  the  vessels  which  contained 
them. 

What  can  be  the  motive  for  so  unsocial  a  custom  I 
cannot  in  any  shape  guess,  especially  as  they  are  a  people 
in  every  other  instance  fond  of  society,  and  very  much  so  of 
their  women.  I  have  often  asked  them  the  reason,  but  they 
have  as  often  evaded  the  question,  or  answered  merely  that 
they  did  it  because  it  was  right,  and  expressed  much  disgust 
when  I  told  them  that  in  England  men  and  women  ate  to- 
gether, and  the  same  victuals.  They,  however,  constantly 
affirm  that  it  does  not  proceed  from  any  superstitious 
motive  :  Eatua,  they  say,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  What- 
ever the  motive  may  be,  it  certainly  affects  their  outward 
manners  more  than  their  principles ;  in  the  tents,  for 
example,  we  never  saw  an  instance  of  the  women  partaking 
of  our  victuals  at  our  table,  but  we  have  several  times  seen 
five  or  six  of  them  go  together  into  the  servants'  apartment 
and  there  eat  very  heartily  of  whatever  they  could  find. 
Nor  were  they  at  all  disturbed  if  we  came  in  while  they 
were  doing  so,  though  we  had  before  used  all  the  entreaties 
we  were  masters  of  to  invite  them  to  partake  with  us. 
When  a  woman  was  alone  with  us,  she  would  often  eat 
even  in  our  company,  but  always  extorted  a  strong  promise 
that  we  should  not  let  her  country-people  know  what  she 
had  done. 

After  their  meals,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  they  often 
sleep ;  middle-aged  people  especially,  the  better  sort  of 
whom  seem  to  spend  most  of  their  time  in  eating  or  sleeping. 
The  young  boys  and  girls  are  uncommonly  lively  and  active, 
and  the  old  people  generally  more  so  than  the  middle-aged, 
which  perhaps  is  owing  to  their  excessively  dissolute 
manners. 

Diversions  they  have  but  few :  shooting  with  the  bow  is 
the  most  usual  I  have  seen  at  Otahite.  It  is  confined 
almost  entirely  to  the  chiefs ;  they  shoot  for  distance  only, 


1769  MUSIC  143 

with  arrows  unfledged,  kneeling  upon  one  knee,  and  dropping 
the  bow  from  their  hands  the  instant  the  arrow  parts  from 
it.  I  measured  a  shot  made  by  Tubourai  Tamaide  ;  it  was 
274  yards,  yet  he  complained  that  as  the  bow  and  arrows 
were  bad  he  could  not  shoot  as  far  as  he  ought  to  have 
done.  At  Ulhietea  bows  were  less  common,  but  the  people 
amused  themselves  by  throwing  a  kind  of  javelin  eight  or 
nine  feet  long  at  a  mark,  which  they  did  with  a  good  deal 
of  dexterity,  often  striking  the  trunk  of  a  plantain  tree, 
their  mark,  in  the  very  centre.  I  could  never  observe  that 
either  these  or  the  Otahite  people  staked  anything ;  they 
seemed  to  contend  merely  for  the  honour  of  victory. 

Music  is  very  little  known  to  them,  and  this  is  the  more 
wonderful  as  they  seem  very  fond  of  it.  They  have  only 
two  instruments,  the  flute  and  the  drum.  The  former  is 
made  of  a  hollow  bamboo,  about  a  foot  long,  in  which  are 
three  holes :  into  one  of  these  they  blow  with  one  nostril, 
stopping  the  other  nostril  with  the  thumb  of  the  left  hand ; 
the  other  two  they  stop  and  unstop  with  the  forefinger  of  the 
left,  and  middle  finger  of  the  right  hand.  By  this  means 
they  produce  four  notes,  and  no  more,  of  which  they  have 
made  one  tune  that  serves  them  for  all  occasions.  To  it 
they  sing  a  number  of  songs,  pehay  as  they  call  them, 
generally  consisting  of  two  lines,  affecting  a  coarse  metre, 
and  generally  in  rhyme.  Maybe  these  lines  would  appear 
more  musical  if  we  well  understood  the  accent  of  their 
language,  but  they  are  as  downright  prose  as  can  be  written. 
I  give  two  or  three  specimens  of  songs  made  upon  our 
arrival. 

Te  de  pahai  de  parow-a 

Ha  maru  no  mina. 

E  pahah  tayo  malama  tai  ya 
No  tabane  tonatou  whannomi  ya. 

E  turai  eattu  terara  patee  whennua  toai 
Ino  o  maio  pretane  to  whennuaia  no  tute. 

At  any  time  of  the  day  when  they  are  lazy  they  amuse 
themselves  by  singing  the  couplets,  but  especially  after  dark  ; 


144    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

their  candles — made  of  the  kernel  of  a  nut  abounding  much 
in  oil — are  then  lighted.  Many  of  these  are  stuck  upon  a 
skewer  of  wood,  one  below  the  other,  and  give  a  very 
tolerable  light,  which  they  often  keep  burning  an  hour  after 
dark,  and  if  they  have  any  strangers  in  the  house  it  is 
sometimes  kept  up  all  night. 

Their  drums  they  manage  rather  better :  they  are  made 
of  a  hollow  block  of  wood,  covered  with  shark's  skin ;  with 
these  they  make  out  five  or  six  tunes,  and  accompany 
the  flute  not  disagreeably.  They  know  also  how  to  tune 
two  drums  of  different  notes  into  concord,  which  they  do 
nicely  enough.  They  also  tune  their  flutes ;  if  two  persons 
play  upon  flutes  which  are  not  in  unison,  the  shorter  is 
lengthened  by  adding  a  small  roll  of  leaf  tied  round  the  end 
of  it,  and  moved  up  and  down  till  their  ears  (which  are 
certainly  very  nice)  are  satisfied.  The  drums  are  used 
chiefly  in  their  heivas,  which  are  at  Otahite  no  more  than  a 
set  of  musicians,  two  drums  for  instance,  two  flutes  and  two 
singers,  who  go  about  from  house  to  house  and  play.  They 
are  always  received  and  rewarded  by  the  master  of  the 
family,  who  gives  them  a  piece  of  cloth  or  whatever  else  he 
can  spare;  and  during  their  stay  of  maybe  three  or  four 
hours,  receives  all  his  neighbours,  who  crowd  his  house  full. 
This  diversion  the  people  are  extravagantly  fond  of,  most 
likely  because,  like  concerts,  assemblies,  etc.,  in  Europe,  they 
serve  to  bring  the  sexes  easily  together  at  a  time  when  the 
very  thought  of  meeting  has  opened  the  heart  and  made 
way  for  pleasing  ideas.  The  grand  dramatic  heiva  which  we 
saw  at  Ulhietea  is,  I  believe,  occasionally  performed  in  all 
the  islands,  but  that  I  have  so  fully  described  in  the  journal 
(3rd,  *7th,  and  8th  August)  that  I  need  say  no  more 
about  it. 

Besides  this  they  dance,  especially  the  young  girls,  when- 
ever they  can  collect  eight  or  ten  together,  and  setting  their 
mouths  askew  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  in  the 
practice  of  which  they  are  brought  up  from  their  earliest 
childhood.  In  doing  this  they  keep  time  to  a  surprising 
nicety ;  I  might  almost  say  as  truly  as  any  dancers  I  have 


1769  CLOTH  MANUFACTURE  145 

seen  in  Europe,  though  their  time  is  certainly  much  more 
simple.  This  exercise  is,  however,  left  off  as  they  arrive  at 
years  of  maturity. 

The  great  facility  with  which  these  people  have  always  pro- 
cured the  necessaries  of  life  may  very  reasonably  be  thought 
to  have  originally  sunk  them  into  a  kind  of  indolence,  which 
has,  as  it  were,  benumbed  their  inventions,  and  prevented 
their  producing  such  a  variety  of  arts  as  might  reasonably 
be  expected  from  the  approaches  they  have  made  in  their 
manners  to  the  politeness  of  the  Europeans.  To  this  may 
also  be  added  a  fault  which  is  too  frequent  even  among  the 
most  civilised  nations,  I  mean  an  invincible  attachment  to 
the  customs  which  they  have  learnt  from  their  forefathers. 
These  people  are  in  so  far  excusable,  as  they  derive  their 
origin,  not  from  creation,  but  from  an  inferior  divinity,  who 
was  herself,  with  others  of  equal  rank,  descended  from  the 
god,  causer  of  earthquakes.  They  therefore  look  upon  it  as 
a  kind  of  sacrilege  to  attempt  to  mend  customs  which  they 
suppose  had  their  origin  either  among  their  deities  or  their 
ancestors,  whom  they  hold  as  little  inferior  to  the  divinities 
themselves. 

They  show  their  greatest  ingenuity  in  marking  and  dyeing 
cloth ;  in  the  description  of  these  operations,  especially  the 
latter,  I  shall  be  rather  diffuse,  as  I  am  not  without  hopes 
that  my  countrymen  may  receive  some  advantage,  either 
from  the  articles  themselves,  or  at  least  by  hints  derived 
from  them. 

The  material  of  which  it  is  made  is  the  internal  bark  or 
liber  of  three  sorts  of  trees,  the  Chinese  paper  mulberry 
(Morus  papyri/era),  the  bread-fruit  tree  (Sitodium  utile1),  and 
a  tree  much  resembling  the  wild  fig-tree  of  the  West  Indies 
(Ficus  prolixa}.  Of  the  first,  which  they  name  aouta,  they 
make  the  finest  and  whitest  cloth,  which  is  worn  chiefly  by 
the  principal  people ;  it  is  likewise  the  most  suitable  for 
dyeing,  especially  with  red.  Of  the  second,  which  they  call 
ooroo,  is  made  a  cloth  inferior  to  the  former  in  whiteness  and 
softness,  worn  chiefly  by  people  of  inferior  degree.  Of  the 

1  Artocarpus  incisa,  Linn.  f. 
L 


146    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

third,  which  is  by  far  the  rarest,  is  made  a  coarse,  harsh 
cloth  of  the  colour  of  the  deepest  brown  paper:  it  is  the 
only  one  they  have  that  at  all  resists  water,  and  is  much 
valued ;  most  of  it  is  perfumed  and  used  by  the  very  great 
people  as  a  morning  dress.  These  three  trees  are  cultivated 
with  much  care,  especially  the  former,  which  covers  the 
largest  part  of  their  cultivated  land.  Young  plants 
of  one  or  two  years'  growth  only  are  used;  their  great 
merit  is  that  they  are  thin,  straight,  tall,  and  without 
branches ;  to  prevent  the  growth  of  these  last  they  pluck 
off  with  great  care  all  the  lower  leaves  and  their  germs,  as 
often  as  there  is  any  appearance  of  a  tendency  to  produce 
branches. 

Their  method  of  manufacturing  the  bark  is  the  same  for 
all  the  sorts  :  one  description  of  it  will  therefore  be  sufficient. 
The  thin  cloth  they  make  thus :  when  the  trees  have  grown 
to  a  sufficient  size  they  are  drawn  up,  and  the  roots  and 
tops  cut  off  and  stripped  of  their  leaves ;  the  best  of  the 
aouta  are  in  this  state  about  three  or  four  feet  long  and  as 
thick  as  a  man's  finger,  but  the  ooroo  are  considerably 
larger.  The  bark  of  these  rods  is  then  slit  up  longitudinally, 
and  in  this  manner  drawn  off  the  stick ;  when  all  are 
stripped,  the  bark  is  carried  to  some  brook  or  running  water, 
into  which  it  is  laid  to  soak  with  stones  upon  it,  and  in  this 
situation  it  remains  some  days.  When  sufficiently  soaked 
the  women  servants  go  down  to  the  river,  and  stripping 
themselves,  sit  down  in  the  water  and  scrape  the  pieces  of 
bark,  holding  them  against  a  flat  smooth  board,  with  the 
shell  called  by  the  English  shell  merchants  Tiger's  tongue 
(Tellina  gargadia),  dipping  it  continually  in  the  water  until 
all  the  outer  green  bark  is  rubbed  and  washed  away,  and 
nothing  remains  but  the  very  fine  fibres  of  the  inner  bark. 
This  work  is  generally  finished  in  the  afternoon :  in  the 
evening  the  pieces  are  spread  out  upon  plantain  leaves,  and  in 
doing  this  I  suppose  there  is  some  difficulty,  as  the  mistress 
of  the  family  generally  presides  over  the  operation.  All 
that  I  could  observe  was  that  they  laid  them  in  two  or 
three  layers,  and  seemed  very  careful  to  make  them  every- 


1769  CLOTH  MANUFACTURE  147 

where  of  equal  thickness,  so  that  if  any  part  of  a  piece 
of  bark  had  been  scraped  too  thin,  another  thin  piece 
was  laid  over  it,  in  order  to  render  it  of  the  same  thick- 
ness as  the  rest.  When  laid  out  in  this  manner,  a  piece 
of  cloth  is  eleven  or  twelve  yards  long,  and  not  more 
than  a  foot  broad,  for  as  the  longitudinal  fibres  are  all 
laid  lengthwise,  they  do  not  expect  it  to  stretch  in  that 
direction,  though  they  well  know  how  considerably  it  will 
in  the  other. 

In  this  state  they  suffer  it  to  remain  till  morning,  by 
which  time  a  large  proportion  of  the  water  with  which  it  was 
thoroughly  soaked  has  either  drained  off  or  evaporated,  and 
the  fibres  begin  to  adhere  together,  so  that  the  whole  may 
be  lifted  from  the  ground  without  dropping  in  pieces.  It 
is  then  taken  away  by  the  women  servants,  who  beat  it  in 
the  following  manner.  They  lay  it  upon  a  long  piece  of 
wood,  one  side  of  which  is  very  even  and  flat,  this  side  being 
put  under  the  cloth :  as  many  women  then  as  they  can 
muster,  or  as  can  work  at  the  board  together,  begin  to  beat  it. 
Each  is  furnished  with  a  baton  made  of  the  hard  wood,  etoa 
(Casuarina  equisetifolia) :  it  is  about  a  foot  long  and  square 
with  a  handle ;  on  each  of  the  four  faces  of  the  square  are 
many  small  furrows,  whose  width  differs  on  each  face,  and 
which  cover  the  whole  face.1  They  begin  with  the  coarsest 
side,  keeping  time  with  their  strokes  in  the  same  manner  as 
smiths,  and  continue  until  the  cloth,  which  extends  rapidly 
under  these  strokes,  shows  by  the  too  great  thinness  of  the 
groves  which  are  made  in  it  that  a  finer  side  of  the  beater 
is  requisite.  In  this  manner  they  proceed  to  the  finest  side, 
with  which  they  finish ;  unless  the  cloth  is  to  be  of  that 
very  fine  sort  hoboo,  which  is  almost  as  thin  as  muslin.  In 
making  this  last  they  double  the  piece  several  times,  and 
beat  it  out  again  and  afterwards  bleach  it  in  the  sun  and 
air,  which  in  these  climates  produce  whiteness  in  a  very 

1  The  instrument  is  apparently  something  like  a  razor  strop,  of  which  the 
cross  section  is  square,  having  longitudinal  furrows,  a  varying  number  on 
each  face.  By  the  "coarsest  side"  is  to  be  understood  the  face  with  the 
fewest  furrows,  which  are  larger  and  more  deeply  indented. 


148    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

short  time.  But  I  believe  that  the  finest  of  their  Jioboo 
does  not  attain  either  its  whiteness  or  softness  until  it  has 
been  worn  some  time,  then  washed  and  beaten  over  again 
with  the  very  finest  beaters. 

Of  this  thin  cloth  they  have  almost  as  many  different 
sorts  as  we  have  of  linen,  distinguishing  it  according  to  its 
fineness  and  the  material  of  which  it  is  made.  Each  piece 
is  from  nine  to  fifteen  yards  in  length,  and  about  two  and  a 
half  broad.  It  serves  them  for  clothes  in  the  day  and 
bedding  at  night.  When,  by  use,  it  is  sufficiently  worn  and 
becomes  dirty,  it  is  carried  to  the  river  and  washed,  chiefly 
by  letting  it  soak  in  a  gentle  stream,  fastened  to  the  bottom 
by  a  stone,  or,  if  it  is  very  dirty,  by  wringing  it  and  squeez- 
ing it  gently.  Several  of  the  pieces  of  cloth  so  washed  are 
then  laid  on  each  other,  and  being  beaten  with  the  coarsest 
side  of  the  beater,  adhere  together,  and  become  a  cloth  as 
thick  as  coarse  broad-cloth,  than  which  nothing  can  be  more 
soft  or  delicious  to  the  touch.  This  softness,  however,  is  not 
produced  immediately  after  the  beating :  it  is  at  first  stiff 
as  if  newly  starched,  and  some  parts  not  adhering  together 
as  well  as  others  it  looks  ragged,  and  also  varies  in  thick- 
ness according  to  any  faults  in  the  cloth  from  which  it  was 
made. 

To  remedy  this  is  the  business  of  the  mistress  and  the 
principal  women  of  the  family,  who  seem  to  amuse  them- 
selves with  this,  and  with  dyeing  it,  as  our  English  women 
do  with  making  caps,  ruffles,  etc.  In  this  way  they  spend 
the  greater  part  of  their  time.  Each  woman  is  furnished 
with  a  knife  made  of  a  piece  of  bamboo  cane,  to  which 
they  give  an  edge  by  splitting  it  diagonally  with  their  nails. 
This  is  sufficient  to  cut  any  kind  of  cloth  or  soft  substance 
with  great  ease.  A  certain  quantity  of  a  paste  made  of  the 
root  of  a  plant  which  serves  them  also  for  food,  and  is  called 
by  them  Pea  (Chaitcea  tacca1),  is  also  required.  With  the 
knife  they  cut  off  any  ragged  edges  or  ends  which  may  not 
have  been  sufficiently  fixed  down  by  the  beating,  and  with 
the  paste  they  fasten  down  others  which  are  less  ragged,  and 

1  Tacca  pinnatifida,  Forst. 


1769  DYES  149 

also  put  patches  on  any  part  which  may  be  thinner  than  the 
rest,  generally  finishing  their  work,  if  intended  to  be  of  the 
best  kind,  by  pasting  a  complete  covering  of  the  finest  thin 
cloth  or  lioboo  over  the  whole.  They  sometimes  make  a  thick 
cloth  also  of  only  half-worn  cloth,  which,  having  been  worn 
by  cleanly  people,  is  not  soiled  enough  to  require  washing : 
of  this  it  is  sufficient  to  paste  the  edges  together.  The 
thick  cloth  made  in  either  of  these  ways  is  used  either  for 
the  garment  called  maro,  which  is  a  long  piece  passed 
between  the  legs  and  round  the  waist,  and  which  serves 
instead  of  breeches,  or  as  the  tebuta,  a  garment  used  equally 
by  both  sexes  instead  of  a  coat  or  gown,  which  exactly 
resembles  that  worn  by  the  inhabitants  of  Peru  and  Chili, 
and  is  called  by  the  Spaniards  poncho. 

The  cloth  itself,  both  thick  and  thin,  resembles  the 
finest  cottons,  in  softness  especially,  in  which  property  it 
even  exceeds  them ;  its  delicacy  (for  it  tears  by  the  smallest 
accident)  makes  it  impossible  that  it  can  ever  be  used  in 
Europe,  indeed  it  is  properly  adapted  to  a  hot  climate.  I 
used  it  to  sleep  in  very  often  in  the  islands,  and  always 
found  it  far  cooler  than  any  English  cloth. 

Having  thus  described  their  manner  of  making  the 
cloth,  I  shall  proceed  to  their  method  of  dyeing.  They  use 
principally  two  colours,  red  and  yellow.  The  first  of  these 
is  most  beautiful,  I  might  venture  to  say  a  more  delicate 
colour  than  any  we  have  in  Europe,  approaching,  however, 
most  nearly  to  scarlet.  The  second  is  a  good  bright  colour, 
but  of  no  particular  excellence.  They  also  on  some  occasions 
dye  the  cloth  brown  and  black,  but  so  seldom  that  I  had  no 
opportunity  during  my  stay  of  seeing  the  method,  or  of 
learning  the  materials  which  they  make  use  of.  I  shall 
therefore  say  no  more  of  these  colours  than  that  they  were 
so  indifferent  in  their  qualities  that  they  did  not  much  raise 
my  curiosity  to  inquire  concerning  them. 

To  begin  then  with  the  red,  in  favour  of  which  I  shall 
premise  that  I  believe  no  voyager  has  passed  through  these 
seas  but  that  he  has  said  something  in  praise  of  this  colour, 
the  brightness  and  elegance  of  which  is  so  great  that  it 


150    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

cannot  avoid  being  taken  notice  of  by  the  most  superficial 
observer.  This  colour  is  made  by  the  admixture  of  the 
juices  of  two  vegetables,  neither  of  which  in  their  separate 
state  have  the  least  tendency  to  the  colour  of  red,  nor,  so 
far  at  least  as  I  have  been  able  to  observe,  are  there  any 
circumstances  relating  to  them  from  whence  any  one  would 
be  led  to  conclude  that  the  red  colour  was  at  all  latent  in 
them.  The  plants  are  Ficus  tinctoria,  called  by  them  matte 
(the  same  name  as  the  colour),  and  Cordia  Sebestena,  called 
etou :  of  these,  the  fruits  of  the  first,  and  the  leaves  of  the 
second,  are  used  in  the  following  manner. 

The  fruit,  which  is  about  as  large  as  a  rounceval  pea,  or 
very  small  gooseberry,  produces,  by  breaking  off  the  stalk 
close  to  it,  one  drop  of  a  milky  liquor  resembling  the  juice 
of  a  fig-tree  in  Europe.  Indeed,  the  tree  itself  is  a  kind 
of  wild  fig.  This  liquor  the  women  collect,  breaking  off  the 
foot-stalk,  and  shaking  the  drop  which  hangs  to  the  little 
fig  into  a  small  quantity  of  cocoanut  water.  To  sufficiently 
prepare  a  gill  of  cocoanut  water  will  require  three  or  four 
quarts  of  the  little  figs,  though  I  never  could  observe  that 
they  had  any  rule  in  deciding  the  proportion,  except  by 
observing  the  cocoanut  water,  which  should  be  of  the  colour 
of  whey,  when  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  juice  of  the  little 
figs  was  mixed  with  it.  When  this  liquor  is  ready,  the 
leaves  of  the  etou  are  brought  and  well  wetted  in  it ;  they 
are  then  laid  upon  a  plantain  leaf,  and  the  women  begin,  at 
first  gently,  to  turn  and  shake  them  about ;  afterwards,  as 
they  grow  more  and  more  flaccid  by  this  operation,  to  squeeze 
them  a  little,  increasing  the  pressure  gradually.  All  this  is 
done  merely  to  prevent  the  leaves  from  breaking.  As  they 
become  more  flaccid  and  spongy,  they  supply  them  with 
more  of  the  juice,  and  in  about  five  minutes  the  colour 
begins  to  appear  on  the  veins  of  the  etou  leaves,  and  in  ten, 
or  a  little  more,  all  is  finished  and  ready  for  straining,  when 
they  press  and  squeeze  the  leaves  as  hard  as  they  possibly 
can.  For  straining  they  have  a  large  quantity  of  the  fibres 
of  a  kind  of  Cyperus  grass  (Cyperus  stupeus)  called  by  them 
mooo,  which  the  boys  prepare  very  nimbly  by  drawing  the 


1769  DYEING  CLOTH  151 

stalks  of  it  through  their  teeth,  or  between  two  little  sticks 
until  all  the  green  bark  and  the  bran-like  substance  which 
lies  between  them  is  gone.  In  a  covering  of  these  fibres, 
then,  they  envelop  the  leaves,  and  squeezing  or  wringing 
them  strongly,  express  the  dye,  which  turns  out  very  little 
more  in  quantity  than  the  liquor  employed ;  this  operation 
they  repeat  several  times,  as  often  soaking  the  leaves  in  the 
dye  and  squeezing  them  dry  again,  until  they  have  suffi- 
ciently extracted  all  their  virtue.  They  throw  away  the 
remaining  leaves,  keeping  however  the  mooo,  which  serves 
them  instead  of  a  brush  to  lay  the  colour  on  the  cloth. 
The  receptacle  used  for  the  liquid  dye  is  always  a  plantain 
leaf,  whether  from  any  property  it  may  have  suitable  to 
the  colour,  or  the  great  ease  with  which  it  is  always 
obtained,  and  the  facility  of  dividing  it,  and  making  of  it 
many  small  cups,  in  which  the  dye  may  be  distributed  to 
every  one  in  the  company,  I  do  not  know.  In  laying  the 
dye  upon  the  cloth,  they  take  it  up  in  the  fibres  of  the 
mooo,  and  rubbing  it  gently  over  the  cloth,  spread  the  out- 
side of  it  with  a  thin  coat  of  dye.  This  applies  to  the 
thick  cloth :  of  the  thin  they  very  seldom  dye  more  than 
the  edges ;  some  indeed  I  have  seen  dyed  through,  as  if  it 
had  been  soaked  in  the  dye,  but  it  had  not  nearly  so  elegant 
a  colour  as  that  on  which  a  thin  coat  only  was  laid  on  the 
outside. 

Though  the  etou  leaf  is  the  most  generally  used,  and  I 
believe  produces  the  finest  colour,  yet  there  are  several 
more,  which  by  being  mixed  with  the  juice  of  the  little  figs 
produce  a  red  colour.  Such  are  Tournefortia  sericea  (which 
they  call  taheino),  Convolvulus  brasiliensis,  Solanum  latifolium 
(ebooa).  By  the  use  of  these  different  plants  or  of  different 
proportions  of  the  materials  many  varieties  of  the  colour 
are  observable  among  their  cloths,  some  of  which  are  very 
conspicuously  superior  to  others. 

When  the  women  have  been  employed  in  dyeing  cloth, 
they  industriously  preserve  the  colour  upon  their  fingers 
and  nails,  upon  which  it  shows  with  its  greatest  beauty ; 
they  look  upon  this  as  no  small  ornament,  and  I  have  been 


152    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

sometimes  inclined  to  believe  that  they  even  borrow  the 
dye  of  each  other,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  colouring  their 
fingers.  Whether  it  is  esteemed  as  a  beauty,  or  a  mark  of 
their  housewifery  in  being  able  to  dye,  or  of  their  riches  in 
having  cloth  to  dye,  I  know  not. 

Of  what  use  this  preparation  may  be  to  my  country- 
men, either  in  itself,  or  in  any  tints  which  may  be  drawn 
from  an  admixture  of  vegetable  substances  so  totally  different 
from  anything  of  the  kind  that  is  practised  in  Europe,  I  am 
not  enough  versed  in  chemistry  to  be  able  to  guess.  I 
must,  however,  hope  that  it  will  be  of  some  value.  The 
latent  qualities  of  vegetables  have  already  furnished  our 
most  valuable  dyes.  No  one  from  an  inspection  of  the 
plants  could  guess  that  any  colour  was  hidden  in  the  herbs 
of  indigo,  woad,  dyer's  weed,  or  indeed  most  of  the  plants 
whose  leaves  are  used  in  dyeing :  and  yet  those  latent  qualities 
have,  when  discovered,  produced  colours  without  which  our 
dyers  could  hardly  maintain  their  trade. 

The  painter  whom  I  have  with  me  tells  me  that  the 
nearest  imitation  of  the  colour  that  he  could  make  would 
be  by  mixing  together  vermilion  and  carmine,  but  even  thus 
he  could  not  equal  the  delicacy,  though  his  would  be  a  body 
colour,  and  the  Indian's  only  a  stain.  In  the  way  that  the 
Indians  use  it,  I  cannot  say  much  for  its  lasting;  they 
commonly  keep  their  cloth  white  up  to  the  very  time  it  is 
to  be  used,  and  then  dye  it,  as  if  conscious  that  it  would 
soon  fade.  I  have,  however,  used  cloth  dyed  with  it  myself 
for  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks,  in  which  time  it  has  very 
little  altered,  and  by  that  time  the  cloth  itself  was  pretty 
well  worn  out.  I  have  now  some  also  in  chests,  which  a 
month  ago  when  I  looked  into  them  had  very  little  changed 
their  colour :  the  admixture  of  fixing  drugs  would,  however, 
certainly  not  a  little  conduce  to  its  keeping. 

Their  yellow,  though  a  good  colour,  has  certainly  no 
particular  excellence  to  recommend  it  in  which  it  is  superior 
to  our  known  yellows.  It  is  made  of  the  bark  of  a  root  of 
a  shrub  called  nono  (Morinda  umbellata).  This  they  scrape 
into  water,  and  after  it  has  soaked  a  sufficient  time,  strain 


1769  MATTING,  ETC.  153 

the  water,  and  dip  the  cloth  into  it.  The  wood  of  the  root 
is  no  doubt  furnished  in  some  degree  with  the  same  property 
as  the  bark,  but  not  having  any  vessels  in  which  they  can 
boil  it,  it  is  useless  to  the  inhabitants.  The  genus  of 
Morinda  seems  worthy  of  being  examined  as  to  its  properties 
for  dyeing.  Browne,  in  his  History  of  Jamaica,  mentions 
three  species  whose  roots,  he  says,  are  used  to  dye  a  brown 
colour;  and  Eumphius  says  of  his  Bancudus  angustifolia^ 
which  is  very  nearly  allied  to  our  nono,  that  it  is  used  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  East  Indian  Islands  as  a  fixing  drug 
for  the  colour  of  red,  with  which  he  says  it  particularly 
agrees. 

They  also  dye  yellow  with  the  fruit  of  a  tree  called 
tamanu  (Calophyllum  inophyllum),  but  their  method  I  never 
had  the  fortune  to  see.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  chiefly 
esteemed  by  them  for  the  smell,  more  agreeable  to  an  Indian 
than  an  European  nose,  which  it  gives  to  the  cloth. 

Besides  their  cloth,  the  women  make  several  kinds  of 
matting,  which  serves  them  to  sleep  upon,  the  finest  being 
also  used  for  clothes.  With  this  last  they  take  great  pains, 
especially  with  that  sort  which  is  made  of  the  bark  of  the 
poorou  (Hibiscus  tiliaceus),  of  which  I  have  seen  matting 
almost  as  fine  as  coarse  cloth.  But  the  most  beautiful  sort, 
vanne,  which  is  white  and  extremely  glossy  and  shining,  is 
made  of  the  leaves  of  the  wharra,  a  sort  of  Pandanus,  of 
which  we  had  not  an  opportunity  of  .seeing  either  flowers 
or  fruit.  The  rest  of  their  moeas,  which  are  used  to  sit  down 
or  sleep  upon,  are  made  of  a  variety  of  sorts  of  rushes,  grasses, 
etc. ;  these  they  are  extremely  nimble  in  making,  as  indeed 
they  are  of  everything  which  is  plaited,  including  baskets  of 
a  thousand  different  patterns,  some  being  very  neat.  As 
for  occasional  baskets  or  panniers  made  of  a  cocoanut  leaf, 
or  the  little  bonnets  of  the  same  material  which  they  wear 
to  shade  their  eyes  from  the  sun,  every  one  knows  how  to 
make  them  at  once.  As  soon  as  the  sun  was  pretty  high, 
the  women  who  had  been  with  us  since  morning,  generally 
sent  out  for  cocoanut  leaves,  of  which  they  made  such 

1  Bancudus  angustifolia,  Rum  ph.  =  Morinda  angustifolia,  Roxb. 


154    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vir 

bonnets  in  a  few  minutes,  and  threw  away  as  soon  as  the 
sun  became  again  low  in  the  afternoon.  These,  however, 
serve  merely  for  a  shade:  coverings  for  their  heads  they 
have  none  except  their  hair,  for  these  bonnets  or  shades  only 
fit  round  their  heads,  not  upon  them. 

Besides  these  things,  they  are  very  neat  in  making  fish- 
ing-nets in  the  same  manner  as  we  do,  ropes  of  about  an 
inch  thick,  and  lines  from  the  poorou,  threads  with  which 
they  sew  together  their  canoes,  and  also  belts  from  the  fibres 
of  the  cocoanut,  plaited  either  round  or  flat.  All  their 
twisting  work  they  do  upon  their  thighs  in  a  manner  very 
difficult  to  describe,  and,  indeed,  unnecessary,  as  no  European 
can  want  to  learn  how  to  perform  an  operation  which  his 
instruments  will  do  for  him  so  much  faster  than  it  can 
possibly  be  done  by  hand.  But  of  all  the  strings  that  they 
make  none  are  so  excellent  as  the  fishing-lines,  etc.,  made  of 
the  bark  of  the  erowa,  a  kind  of  frutescent  nettle  (Urtica 
argentea)  which  grows  in  the  mountains,  and  is  consequently 
rather  scarce.  Of  this  they  make  the  lines  which  are 
employed  to  take  the  briskest  and  most  active  fish,  bonitos, 
albecores,  etc.  As  I  never  made  experiments  with  it,  I  can 
only  describe  its  strength  by  saying  that  it  was  infinitely 
stronger  than  the  silk  lines  which  I  had  on  board  made  in 
the  best  fishing  shops  in  London,  though  scarcely  more  than 
half  as  thick. 

In  every  expedient  for  taking  fish  they  are  vastly 
ingenious ;  their  seine  nets  for  fish  to  mesh  themselves  in, 
etc.,  are  exactly  like  ours.  They  strike  fish  with  harpoons 
made  of  cane  and  pointed  with  hard  wood  more  dexterously 
than  we  can  do  with  ours  that  are  headed  with  iron,  for  we 
who  fasten  lines  to  ours  need  only  lodge  them  in  the  fish  to 
secure  it,  while  they,  on  the  other  hand,  throwing  theirs 
quite  from  them,  must  either  mortally  wo  and  the  fish  or 
lose  him.  Their  hooks,  indeed,  as  they  are  not  made  of  iron, 
are  necessarily  very  different  from  ours  in  construction. 
They  are  of  two  sorts ;  the  first,  witte-witte,  is  used  for  towing. 
Fig.  1  represents  this  in  profile,  and  Fig.  2  the  view  of  the 
bottom  part.  The  shank  (a)  is  made  of  mother-of-pearl, 


1769 


FISH  HOOKS 


155 


the  most  glossy  that  can  be  got,  the  inner  or  naturally 
bright  side  being  put  undermost.  In  Fig.  2,  &  is  a  tuft  of 
white  dog's  or  hog's  hair,  which  serves,  maybe,  to  imitate 
the  tail  of  a  fish.  These  hooks  require  no  bait :  they  are 
used  with  a  fishing-rod  of  bamboo.  The  people  having 
found  by  the  flight  of  birds,  which  constantly  attend  shoals 


Fig.  2. 


of  bonitos,  where  the  fish  are,  paddle  their  canoes  as  swiftly 
as  they  can  across  them,  and  seldom  fail  to  take  some. 
This  Indian  invention  seems  far  to  exceed  anything  of  the 
kind  that  I  have  seen  among  Europeans,  and  is  certainly 
more  successful  than  any  artificial  flying  fish  or  other  thing 
which  is  generally  used  for  taking  bonitos.  So  far,  it 
deserves  imitation  at  any  time  when  taking  bonitos  is  at  all 
desirable. 

The  other  sort  of  hook  which  they  have  is  made  likewise 
of  mother-of-pearl,  or  some  hard  shell,  and  as  they  cannot 
make  them  bearded  as  our  own,  they 
supply  that  fault  by  making  the  points 
turn  much  inwards,  as  in  the  annexed 
figure.  They  have  them  of  all  sizes, 
and  catch  with  them  all  kinds  of  fish 
very  successfully,  I  believe.  The  manner  of  making  them 
is  very  simple ;  every  fisherman  makes  them  for  himself. 


156    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 


The  shell  is  first  cut  by  the  edge  of  another  shell  into  square 
pieces.  These  are  shaped  with  files  of  coral,  with  which 
they  work  in  a  manner  surprising  to  any  one  who  does  not 
know  how  sharp  corals  are.  A  hole  is  then  bored  in  the 
middle  by  a  drill,  which  is  simply  any  stone  that  may 
chance  to  have  a  sharp  corner  in  it  tied  to  the  handle  of  a 
cane.  This  is  turned  in  the  hand  like  a  chocolate  mill  until 
the  hole  is  made ;  the  file  then  comes  into  the  hole  and 
completes  the  hook.  This  is  made,  in  such  a  one  as  the 
figure  shows,  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

In  their  carpentry,  joinery,  and  stone-cutting,  etc.,  they 
are  scarcely  more  indebted  to  the  use  of  tools  than  in  making 
these  hooks.     A  stone  axe  in  the  shape  of  an  adze,  a  chisel 
or  gouge  made  of  a  human  bone,  a  file  or  rasp  of  coral,  the 
skin  of  sting-rays  and  coral  sand  to  polish  with,  are  a  suffi- 
cient set  of  tools  for  building  a  house  and  furnishing  it  with 
boats,  as  well  as  for  quarrying  and  squaring  stones  for  the 
pavement  of  anything  which  may  require  it  in  the  neighbour- 
hood.    Their  axes  are  made  of  a  black  stone,  not  very  hard, 
but    tolerably    tough :    they    are   of   different    sizes,   some, 
intended  for  felling,  weigh   three  or  four  pounds ;   others, 
which   are   used   only    for   carving,   not    as    many   ounces. 
Whatever  quality  is  lacking  in  these  tools,  is  made  up  by 
the  industry  of  the  people  who  use  them.     Felling  a  tree  is 
their  greatest  labour ;  a  large  one  requires  many  hands  to 
assist,  and  some  days  before  it  can  be  finished,  but  when 
once  it  is  down  they  manage  it  with  far  greater  dexterity 
than  is  credible  to  a  European.      If  it  is  to  be  made  into 
boards  they  put  wedges  into  it,  and  drive  them  with  such 
dexterity  (as  they  have  told  me,  for  I  never  saw  it)  that 
they  divide  it  into  slabs  of  three  or  four  inches  in  thickness, 
seldom  meeting  with  an  accident  if  the  tree  is  good.     These 
slabs  they  very  soon  dubb  down  with  their  axes  to  any  given 
thinness,  and   in   this  work   they  certainly  excel;   indeed, 
their  tools  are  better  adapted  for  this  than  for  any  other 
labour.     I  have  seen  them  dubb  off  the  first  rough  coat  of 
a  plank  at  least  as  fast  as  one  of  our  carpenters  could  have 
done  it ;   and   in   hollowing,  where  they   are  able  to  raise 


1769  CARPENTRY  AND  CARVING  157 

large  slabs  of  the  wood,  they  certainly  work  more  quickly, 
owing  to  the  weight  of  their  tools.  Those  who  are  masters 
of  this  business  will  take  off  a  surprisingly  thin  coat  from  a 
whole  plank  without  missing  a  stroke.  They  can  also  work 
upon  wood  of  any  shape  as  well  as  upon  a  flat  piece,  for  in 
making  a  canoe  every  piece,  bulging  or  flat,  is  properly  shaped 
at  once,  as  they  never  bend  a  plank ;  all  the  bulging  pieces 
must  be  shaped  by  hand,  and  this  is  done  entirely  with 
axes.  They  have  also  small  axes  for  carving ;  but  all  this 
latter  kind  of  work  was  so  bad,  and  in  so  very  mean  a  taste, 
that  it  scarcely  deserved  that  name.  Yet  they  are  very 
fond  of  having  carvings  and  figures  stuck  about  their  canoes, 
the  great  ones  especially,  which  generally  have  a  figure  of  a 
man  at  the  head  and  another  at  the  stern.  Their  marais 
also  are  ornamented  with  different  kinds  of  figures,  one 
device  representing  many  men  standing  on  each  other's 
heads.  They  have  also  figures  of  animals,  and  planks  of 
which  the  faces  are  carved  in  patterns  of  squares  and  circles, 
etc.  All  their  work,  however,  in  spite  of  its  bad  taste, 
acquires  a  certain  neatness  in  finish,  for  they  polish  every- 
thing, even  the  side  of  a  canoe  or  the  post  of  a  house,  with 
coral-sand  rubbed  on  in  the  outer  husk  of  a  cocoanut  and 
ray's  skin,  which  makes  it  very  smooth  and  neat. 

Their  boats,  all  at  least  that  I  have  seen  of  them,  may 
be  divided  into  two  general  classes.  The  first,  or  ivahah, 
are  the  only  sort  used  at  Otahite ;  they  serve  for  fishing 
and  for  short  trips  to  sea,  but  do  not  seem  at  all  calculated 
for  long  voyages ;  the  others,  or  pahie,  are  used  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Society  Isles,  viz.  Ulhietea,  Bola  Bola, 
Huahine,  etc.,  and  are  rather  too  clumsy  for  fishing,  for  which 
reason  the  inhabitants  of  those  islands  have  also  ivahahs. 
The  pahie  are  much  better  adapted  for  long  voyages.  The 
figures  below  (p.  158)  give  a  section  of  both  kinds :  Fig.  1 
is  the  ivahah  and  Fig.  2  the  pahie. 

To  begin,  then,  with  the  ivahah.  These  differ  very  much 
in  length :  I  have  measured  them  from  10  feet  to  72  feet,  but 
by  no  means  proportional  in  breadth,  for  while  that  of  1 0  feet 
was  about  1  foot  in  breadth,  that  of  72  feet  was  scarce  2  feet, 


158    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 


nor  is  their  height  increased  in  much  greater  proportion. 
They  may  be  subdivided  into  three  sorts,  the  fighting  ivahah, 
the  common  sailing  or  fishing  ivahah,  and  the  travelling 
ivahah.  The  fighting  ivahah  is  by  far  the  longest ;  the  head 
and  stern  of  these  are  considerably  raised  above  the  body 
in  a  semicircular  form,  17  or  18  feet  in  height  when  the 
centre  is  scarcely  3  feet.  These  boats  never  go  to  sea  singly ; 
two  are  always  fastened  together  side  by  side  at  the  distance 
of  about  two  feet  by  strong  poles  of  wood  extending  across 
both,  and  upon  them  is  built  a  stage  in  the  fore-part  about 
ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  and  a  little  broader  than  the  two 
boats :  this  is  supported  by  pillars  about  «ix  feet  high,  and 


Fig.  i. 


Fig.2. 


upon  it  stand  the  people  who  fight  with  slings,  spears,  etc. 
Below  are  the  rowers,  who  are  much  less  engaged  in  the 
battle  on  account  of  their  confined  situation,  but  who  receive 
the  wounded  from  the  stage,  and  furnish  fresh  men  to  ascend 
in  their  room.  (This  much  from  description,  for  I  never 
saw  any  of  their  battles.) 

The  sailing  and  fishing  ivahahs  vary  in  size  from  about 
40  feet  in  length  to  the  smallest  I  have  mentioned,  but 
those  which  are  under  25  feet  in  length  seldom  or  never 
carry  sail :  their  sterns  only  are  raised,  and  those  not 
above  four  or  five  feet :  their  prows  are  quite  flat,  and 
have  a  flat  board  projecting  forwards  about  four  feet  beyond 
them. 

Those  which  I  have  called  travelling  ivahahs  differ 
from  these  in  nothing  except  that  two  are  constantly 


1769  BOATS  159 

joined  together  in  the  same  manner  as  the  war-boats,  and 
that  they  have  a  small  neat  house  five  or  six  feet  broad  by 
seven  or  eight  long  fastened  upon  the  fore-part  of  them,  in 
which  the  principal  people,  who  use  them  very  much,  sit 
while  they  are  carried  from  place  to  place.  The  sailing 
ivahahs  have  also  this  house  upon  them  when  two  are  joined 
together,  which  is,  however,  but  seldom.  Indeed,  the  differ- 
ence between  these  two  consists  almost  entirely  in  the 
rigging,  and  I  have  divided  them  into  two  more  because 
they  are  generally  seen  employed  in  very  different  occupa- 
tions than  from  any  real  difference  in  their  build. 

All  ivahahs  agree  in  the  sides  built  like  walls  and  the 
bottoms  flat.  In  this  they  differ  from  the  pahie  (Fig.  2), 
of  which  the  sides  bulge  out  and  the  bottom  is  sharp, 
answering,  in  some  measure,  instead  of  a  keel. 

These  pahies  differ  very  much  in  size :  I  have  seen 
them  from  30  to  60  feet  in  length,  but,  like  the  ivahahs, 
they  are  very  narrow  in  proportion  to  their  length.  One 
that  I  measured  was  51  feet  in  length,  but  only  1-J-  feet  in 
breadth  at  the  top  (a)  and  3  feet  in  the  bilge  (&,  see  Fig.  2). 
This  is  about  the  general  proportion.  Their  round  sides,  how- 
ever, make  them  capable  of  carrying  much  greater  burthens 
and  being  much  safer  sea-boats,  in  consequence  of  which  they 
are  used  merely  for  fighting  and  making  long  voyages.  For 
purposes  of  fishing  and  travelling  along  shore  the  natives  of 
the  islands  where  they  are  chiefly  used  have  ivahahs.  The 
fighting  pahies,  which  are  the  longest,  are  fitted  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  fighting  ivahahs,  only  as  they  carry  far  greater 
burthens,  the  stages  are  proportionately  larger.  Two  sailing 
boats  are  most  generally  fastened  together  for  this  purpose ; 
those  of  a  middling  size  are  said  to  be  best,  and  least  liable 
to  accident  in  stormy  weather.  In  these,  if  we  may  credit 
the  reports  of  the  inhabitants,  they  make  very  long  voyages, 
often  remaining  several  months  from  home,  visiting  in  that 
time  many  different  islands,  of  which  they  reported  to  us 
the  names  of  nearly  a  hundred ;  they  cannot,  however, 
remain  at  sea  above  a  fortnight  or  twenty  days,  although 
they  live  as  sparingly  as  possible,  for  want  of  proper  pro- 


160    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  VH 

visions  and  place  to  store  them  in,  as  well  as  water,  of 
which  they  carry  a  tolerable  stock  in  bamboos. 

All  the  boats  are  disproportionately  narrow  in  respect 
to  their  length,  which  causes  them  to  be  very  easily  overset, 
so  that  not  even  the  Indians  dare  venture  in  them  till  they 
are  fitted  with  a  contrivance  to  prevent  this  inconvenience, 
which  is  done,  either  by  fastening  two  together  side  by 
side,  as  has  been  before  described,  in  which  case  one  supports 
the  other  and  they  become  as  steady  a  vehicle  as  can  be 
imagined ;  or,  if  one  of  them  is  going  out  alone,  by  fasten- 
ing a  log  of  wood  to  two  poles  laid  across  the  boat :  this 
serves  to  balance  it  tolerably,  though  not  so  securely,  but  that 
I  have  seen  the  Indians  overturn  them  very  often.  This  is 
the  same  principle  as  that  adopted  in  the  flying  proa  of  the 
Ladrone  Islands  described  in  Lord  Anson's  voyage,  where  it 
is  called  an  outrigger  ;  indeed,  the  vessels  themselves  as 
much  resemble  the  flying  proa  as  to  make  appear  at  least 
possible  that  either  the  latter  is  a  very  artful  improvement 
of  these,  or  these  a  very  awkward  imitation  of  the  proa. 

These  boats  are  propelled  with  large  paddles,  which  have 
a  long  handle  and  a  flat  blade  resembling,  more  than  any- 
thing I  can  recollect,  a  baker's  peel ;  of  these  every  person 
in  the  boat  generally  has  one,  except  those  who  sit  under 
the  houses ;  and  with  these  they  push  themselves  on  fairly 
fast  through  the  water.  The  boats  are  so  leaky,  however, 
that  one  person  at  least  is  employed  almost  constantly  in 
throwing  out  the  water.  The  only  thing  in  which  they 
excel  is  landing  in  a  surf,  for  by  reason  of  their  great  length 
and  high  sterns  they  land  dry  when  our  boats  could  scarcely 
land  at  all,  and  in  the  same  manner  they  put  off  from  the 
shore,  as  I  have  often  experienced. 

When  sailing,  they  have  either  one  or  two  masts  fitted 
to  a  frame  which  is  above  the  canoe :  they  are  made 
of  a  single  stick ;  in  one  that  I  measured  of  32  feet 
in  length,  the  mast  was  25  feet  high,  which  seems  to  be 
about  the  common  proportion.  To  this  is  fastened  a  sail 
about  one-third  longer,  but  narrow  and  of  a  triangular  shape, 
pointed  at  the  top,  and  the  outside  curved ;  it  is  bordered 


1769  BOAT-BUILDING  161 

all  round  with  a  frame  of  wood,  and  has  no  contrivance 
either  for  reefing  or  furling,  so  that  in  case  of  bad  weather 
it  must  be  entirely  cut  away ;  but  I  fancy  that  in  these 
moderate  climates  they  are  seldom  brought  to  this  necessity. 
The  material  of  which  it  is  made  is  universally  matting. 
With  these  sails  their  canoes  go  at  a  very  good  rate,  and 
lie  very  near  the  wind,  probably  on  account  of  their  sail 
being  bordered  with  wood,  which  makes  them  stand  better 
than  any  bow-lines  could  possibly  do.  On  the  top  of  this 
sail  they  carry  an  ornament  which,  in  taste,  resembles  much 
our  pennants ;  it  is  made  of  feathers,  and  reaches  down  to 
the  very  water,  so  that  when  blown  out  by  the  wind  it 
makes  no  inconsiderable  show.  They  are  fond  of  ornaments 
in  all  parts  of  their  boats ;  in  the  good  ones  they  commonly 
have  a  figure  at  the  stern,  and  in  the  pahies  they  have  a 
figure  at  both  ends,  and  the  smaller  ivahahs  have  usually 
a  small  carved  pillar  upon  the  stern. 

Considering  that  these  people  are  so  entirely  destitute  of 
iron,  they  build  these  canoes  very  well.  Of  the  ivahahs  the 
foundation  is  always  the  trunks  of  one  or  more  trees 
hollowed  out :  the  ends  of  these  are  sloped  off,  and  sewed 
together  with  the  fibres  of  the  husk  of  the  cocoanut ;  the 
sides  are  then  raised  with  planks  sewed  together  in  the  same 
manner. 

The  pahies,  as  they  are  much  better  embarkations,  so 
they  are  built  in  a  more  ingenious  manner.  Like  the 
others  they  are  laid  upon  a  long  keel,  which,  however,  is  not 
more  than  four  or  five  inches  deep.  Upon  this  they  raise 
two  ranges  of  planks,  each  of  which  is  about  eighteen  inches 
high,  and  about  four  or  five  feet  in  length  :  such  a  number 
of  pieces  must  necessarily  be  framed  and  fitted  together 
before  they  are  sewed ;  and  this  they  do  very  dexterously, 
supporting  the  keel  by  ropes  made  fast  to  the  top  of  the 
house  under  which  they  work,  and  each  plank  by  a 
stanchion ;  so  that  the  canoe  is  completely  put  together 
before  any  one  part  is  fastened  to  the  next,  and  in  this 
manner  it  is  supported  till  the  sewing  is  completed.  This, 
however,  soon  rots  in  the  salt  water ;  it  must  be  renewed 

M 


162    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

once  a  year  at  least ;  in  doing  so  the  canoe  is  entirely  taken 
to  pieces  and  every  plank  examined.  By  this  means  they 
are  always  in  good  repair;  the  best  of  them  are,  however, 
very  leaky,  for  as  they  use  no  caulking  the  water  must  run 
in  at  every  hole  made  by  the  sewing.  This  is  no  great  in- 
convenience to  them,  who  live  in  a  climate  where  the  water 
is  always  warm,  and  who  go  barefoot. 

For  the  convenience  of  keeping  these  pahies  dry,  we  saw 
in  the  islands  where  they  are  used  a  peculiar  sort  of  house 
built  for  their  reception  and  put  to  no  other  use.  It  was 
built  of  poles  stuck  upright  in  the  ground  and  tied  together 
at  the  top,  so  that  they  make  a  kind  of  Gothic  arch :  the 
sides  of  these  are  completely  covered  with  thatch  down  to 
the  ground,  but  the  ends  are  left  open.  One  of  these  I 
measured  was  fifty  paces  in  length,  ten  in  breadth,  and 
twenty-four  feet  in  height,  and  this  was  of  an  average  size. 

The  people  excel  much  in  predicting  the  weather,  a 
circumstance  of  great  use  to  them  in  their  short  voyages 
from  island  to  island.  They  have  various  ways  of  doing  this, 
but  one  only  that  I  know  of  which  I  never  heard  of  being 
practised  by  Europeans,  and  that  is  foretelling  the  quarter  of 
the  heavens  from  whence  the  wind  will  blow  by  observing 
the  Milky  Way,  which  is  generally  bent  in  an  arch  either 
one  way  or  the  other  :  this  arch  they  conceive  as  already 
acted  upon  by  the  wind,  which  is  the  cause  of  its  curving, 
and  say  that  if  the  same  curve  continues  a  whole  night  the 
wind  predicted  by  it  seldom  fails  to  come  some  time  in  the 
next  day,  and  in  this  as  well  as  their  other  predictions  we 
found  them  indeed  not  infallible,  but  far  more  clever  than 
Europeans. 

In  their  longer  voyages  they  steer  in  the  day  by  the  sun, 
and  in  the  night  by  the  stars :  of  these  they  know  a  very 
large  number  by  name,  and  the  cleverest  among  them  will 
tell  in  what  part  of  the  heavens  they  are  to  be  seen  in  any 
month  when  they  are  above  their  horizon :  they  know  also 
the  time  of  their  annual  appearance  and  disappearance  to  a 
great  nicety,  far  greater  than  would  be  easily  believed  by  an 
European  astronomer. 


1769  MEASURES  OF  TIME,  ETC.  163 

I  was  not  able  to  get  a  complete  idea  of  their  method  of 
dividing  time.  I  shall,  however,  set  down  what  little  I  know. 
In  speaking  of  time  either  past  or  to  come,  they  never  use 
any  term  but  moons,  of  which  they  count  thirteen,  and  then 
begin  again :  this  of  itself  sufficiently  shows  that  they  have 
some  idea  of  the  solar  year,  but  how  they  manage  to  make 
their  thirteen  months  agree  with  it  I  never  could  find  out. 
That  they  do,  however,  I  believe,  because  in  mentioning  the 
names  of  months  they  very  frequently  told  us  the  fruits  that 
would  be  in  season  in  each  of  them,  etc.  They  also  have  a 
name  for  the  thirteen  months  collectively,  but  they  never  use 
it  in  speaking  of  time  ;  it  is  employed  only  in  explaining  the 
mysteries  of  their  religion.  In  their  metaphorical  year  they 
say  that  the  year  Tettowma  ta  tayo  was  the  daughter  of  the 
chief  divinity  Taroataihetoomoo,  and  that  she  in  time  brought 
forth  the  months,  who  in  their  turn  produced  the  days,  of 
which  they  count  twenty-nine  in  every  month,  including 
one  in  which  the  moon  is  invisible.  Every  one  of  these  has 
its  respective  name,  and  is  again  subdivided  into  twelve 
parts,  containing  about  two  hours  each,  six  for  the  day 
and  six  for  the  night,  each  of  which  has  likewise  its  re- 
spective name.  In  the  day-time  they  guess  the  divisions 
of  these  parts  very  well,  but  in  the  night,  though  they  have 
the  same  number  of  divisions  as  in  the  day,  seem  very  little 
able  to  tell  at  any  time  which  hour  it  is,  except  the  cleverest 
among  them  who  know  the  stars. 

In  counting  they  proceed  from  one  to  ten,  having  a 
different  name  for  each  number ;  from  thence  they  say  one 
more,  two  more,  etc.,  up  to  twenty,  which  after  being  called 
in  the  general  count  ten  more,  acquires  a  new  name  as  we 
say  a  score :  by  these  scores  they  count  till  they  have  got 
ten  of  them,  which  again  acquires  a  new  name,  200  ;  these 
again  are  counted  till  they  get  ten  of  them,  2000  ;  which 
is  the  largest  denomination  I  have  ever  heard  them  make 
use  of,  and  I  suppose  is  as  large  as  they  can  ever  have 
occasion  for,  as  they  can  count  ten  of  these  (i.e.  up  to 
20,000)  without  any  new  term. 

In  measures  of  space  they  are  very  poor  indeed :  one 


1 64    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

fathom  and  ten  fathoms  are  the  only  terms  I  have  heard 
among  them.  By  these  they  convey  the  size  of  anything, 
as  a  house,  a  boat,  depth  of  the  sea,  etc.,  but  when  they 
speak  of  distances  from  one  place  to  another  they  have  no 
way  of  making  themselves  understood  but  by  the  number  of 
days  it  takes  them  in  their  canoes  to  go  the  distance. 

Their  language  appeared  to  me  to  be  very  soft  and  tuneful; 
it  abounds  in  vowels,  and  was  easily  pronounced  by  us,  while 
ours  was  to  them  absolutely  impracticable.  I  instance  par- 
ticularly my  own  name,  which  I  took  much  pains  to  teach 
them  and  they  to  learn ;  after  three  days'  fruitless  trial  I 
was  forced  to  select  from  their  many  attempts  To/pane,  the 
only  one  I  had  been  able  to  get  from  them  that  had  the 
least  similitude  to  it.  Spanish  or  Italian  words  they  pro- 
nounced with  ease,  provided  they  ended  with  a  vowel,  for 
few  or  none  of  theirs  end  with  a  consonant. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  am  sufficiently  acquainted  with  it  to 
pronounce  whether  it  is  copious  or  not;  in  one  respect, 
however,  it  is  beyond  measure  inferior  to  all  European 
languages,  and  that  is  in  its  almost  total  want  of  inflection 
both  of  nouns  and  verbs,  few  or  none  of  the  former  having 
more  than  one  case  or  the  latter  one  tense.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  want,  however,  we  found  it  very  easy  to  make 
ourselves  understood  in  matters  of  common  necessaries,  how- 
ever paradoxical  it  may  appear  to  an  European. 

They  have  certain  suffixes  and  make  very  frequent  use 
of  them.  This  puzzled  us  at  first  very  much,  though  they 
are  but  few  in  number.  An  instance  or  two  may  be 
necessary  to  make  myself  understood,  as  they  do  not  exist 
in  any  modern  European  language.  One  asks  another 
"  Harre  nea  ?  "  "  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  The  other  answers 
"  Ivahinera,"  "  To  my  wives,"  on  which  the  first  questioning 
him  still  further  "Ivahinera  ? "  "  To  your  wives?"  is  answered 
"  Ivahinereiaa,"  "  Yes,  I  am  going  to  my  wives."  Here  the 
suffixes  era  and  eiaa  save  several  words  to  both  parties. 

From  the  vocabularies  given  in  Le  Maire's  voyage  (see 
Histoire  des  Navigations  aux  Terres  Australes,  torn.  i.  p.  4 1 0 1) 
1  By  C.  de  Brosse,  1756. 


1769 


LANGUAGE 


165 


it  appears  clearly  that  the  languages  given  there  as  those  of 
the  Isles  of  Solomon  and  the  Isle  of  Cocos1  are  radically  the 
identical  language  we  met  with,  most  words  differing  in 
little,  but  the  greater  number  of  consonants.  The  languages 
of  New  Guinea  and  Moyse  Isle 2  have  also  many  words  radi- 
cally the  same,  particularly  their  numbers,  although  they  are 
so  obscured  by  a  multitude  of  consonants  that  it  is  scarcely 
possible  that  they  should  be  detected  but  by  those  who  are  in 
some  measure  acquainted  with  one  of  the  languages.  For 
instance  the  New  Guinea  kisson  (fish)  is  found  to  be  the 
same  as  the  Otahite  eia  by  the  medium  of  ica  of  the  Isle  of 
Solomon;  talingan  (ears)  is  in  Otahite  terrea;  limang  (a 
hand)  becomes  lima,  or  rima ;  paring  (cheeks)  is  paperea ; 
mattanga  (eyes)  mata ;  "  they  called  us,"  says  the  author, 
" tata"  which  in  Otahite  signifies  men  in  general. 

That  the  people  who  inhabit  this  numerous  range  of 
islands  should  have  originally  come  from  one  and  the  same 
place,  and  brought  with  them  the  same  numbers  and 
language,  which  latter  especially  have  remained  not  materi- 
ally altered  to  this  day,  is  in  my  opinion  not  at  all  beyond 
belief ;  but  that  the  numbers  of  Madagascar  should  be  the 
same  as  all  these  is  almost  if  not  quite  incredible.  I  shall 
give  them  from  a  book  called  a  Collection  of  Voyages  ly  the 
Dutch  East  Company,  Lond.  1*703,  p.  116,  where,  supposing 
the  author  who  speaks  of  ten  numbers  and  gives  only  nine 
to  have  lost  the  fifth,  their  similarity  is  beyond  dispute. 


Madagascar. 

Otahite. 

Cocos  Isle. 

New  Guinea. 

1.  Issa 

Tahie 

Taci 

Tika 

2.  Rove 

Rua 

Loua 

Roa 

3.  Tello 

Torou 

Tolou 

Tola 

4.  Effat 

Hea 

Fa 

Fatta 

6.  Enning 

Whene 

Houno 

Wamma 

7.  Fruto 

Hetu 

Fitou 

Fita 

8.  Wedo 

Waru 

Walou 

Walla 

9.  Sidai 

Heva 

Ywore 

Siwa 

10.  Scula 

Ahourou 

Ongefoula 

Sangafoula 

1  Probably  one  of  the  Samoa  group,  not  the  Keeling  Islands. 

2  An  island  off  the  N.E.  coast  of  New  Guinea,  so  named  by  Le  Maire. 


166    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS  CH.  vn 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  author  of  this 
voyage,  during  the  course  of  it,  touched  at  Java  and  several 
other  East  Indian  Isles,  as  well  as  at  Madagascar ;  so  that  if 
by  any  disarrangement  of  his  papers  he  has  given  the  numerals 
of  some  of  those  islands  for  those  of  Madagascar,  our  wonder 
will  be  much  diminished ;  for  after  having  traced  them  from 
Otahite  to  New  Guinea  it  would  not  seem  very  wonderful 
to  carry  them  a  little  farther  to  the  East  Indian  Isles,  which 
from  their  situation  seem  not  unlikely  to  be  the  place  from 
whence  our  islanders  originally  came.  But  I  shall  waive 
saying  any  more  on  this  subject  till  I  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  myself  seeing  the  customs,  etc.  of  the\  Javans,  which  this 
voyage  will  in  all  probability  give  me  an  opportunity  of  doing. 

The  language  of  all  the  islands  I  was  upon  was  the  same, 
so  far  as  I  could  understand  it ;  the  people  of  Ulhietea  only 
changed  the  t  of  the  Otahiteans  to  k,  calling  tata,  which 
signifies  a  man  or  woman,  Itaka,  a  peculiarity  which  made 
the  language  much  less  soft.  The  people  of  Oheteroa,  so  far 
as  I  could  understand  their  words,  which  were  only  shouted 
out  to  us,  seemed  to  do  the  same  thing,  and  add  many  more 
consonants,  which  made  their  language  much  less  musical 
I  shall  give  a  few  of  the  words,  from  whence  an  idea  may 
be  got  of  their  language. 


Eupo 

the  head 

Oboo 

the  belly 

Ahewh 

the  nose 

Rema 

the  arm 

Roourou 

the  hair 

Aporema 

the  hand 

Outou 

the  month 

Manneow 

the  fingers 

Niheo 

the  teeth 

Mieu 

the  nails 

Arrero 

the  tongue 

Touhe 

the  buttocks 

Men-Emm 

the  beard 

Hoouhah 

the  thighs 

Tiarraboa 

the  throat 

Mae 

fat 

Taamo 

the  shoulders 

Huru-pum 

hair 

Tuah 

the  back 

Eraou 

a  tree 

Aoai 

the  legs 

Ama 

a  branch 

Tapoa 

the  feet 

Tiale 

a  flower 

Boot 

a  hog 

Huero 

fruit 

Moa 

a  fowl 

Etummoo 

the  stem 

Euree 

a  dog 

Afl 

the  root 

Eure-eure 

iron 

Eiherre 

herbaceous  plants 

Ooroo 

bread-fruit 

Oboopa 

a  pigeon 

Hearee 

cocoanute 

Avigne 

a  parroquet 

Mia 

bananas 

Aa 

another  species 

Vae 

wild  plantains 

Mannu 

a  bird 

Ooma 

the  breast 

Mora 

a  duck 

Eu 

the  nipples 

Mattow 

a  fish-hook 

1769 


DISEASES 


167 


Toura 

a  rope 

Eno 

bad 

Mow 

a  shark 

A 

yes 

Mattera 

a  fishing-rod 

Ima 

no 

Eupea 

a  net 

Paree 

ugly 

M  ah  anna 

the  sun 

Pororee 

hungry 

Malama 

the  moon 

Pia 

full 

Whettu 

a  star 

Tuhea 

lean 

Whettu-euphe 

a  comet 

Timahah 

heavy 

Erai 
Eatta 

the  sky 
a  cloud 

Mama 
Poto 

light 
short 

Main  mahi 

a  dolphin 

Roa 

tall 

Poe 

beads 

Neuenne 

sweet 

Poe  Matawewwe 

pearl 

Mala 

bitter 

Ahow 

a  garment 

Whanno 

to  go  far 

Avee 

a  fruit  like  an  apple 

Harre 

to  go 

Ahee 

another      like      a 

Arrea 

to  stay 

chestnut 

Enoho 

to  remain  or 

tarry 

Ewharre 

a  house 

Rohe-rohe 

to  be  tired 

Whennua 

a  high  island 

Maa 

to  eat 

Motu 

a  low  island 

Inoo 

to  drink 

Toto 

blood 

Ete 

to  understand 

Aevo 

bone 

Warriddo 

to  steal 

Aeo 

flesh 

Woridde 

to  be  angry 

Miti 

good 

Teparahie 

to  beat 

Among  people  whose  diet  is  so  simple  and  plain  dis- 
tempers cannot  be  expected  to  be  as  frequent  as  among  us 
Europeans ;  we  observed  but  few,  and  those  chiefly  cutane- 
ous, as  erysipelas  and  scaly  eruptions  on  the  skin.  This 
last  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  advanced  to  leprosy ;  the 
people  who  were  in  that  state  were  secluded  from  society, 
living  by  themselves  each  in  a  small  house  built  in  some 
unfrequented  place,  where  they  were  daily  supplied  with 
provisions.  Whether  these  had  any  hope  of  relief,  or  were 
doomed  in  this  manner  to  languish  out  a  life  of  solitude,  we 
did  not  learn.  Some,  but  very  few,  had  ulcers  on  different 
parts  of  their  bodies,  most  of  which  looked  very  virulent ; 
the  people  who  were  afflicted  with  them  did  not,  however, 
seem  much  to  regard  them,  leaving  them  entirely  without 
any  application,  even  to  keep  off  the  flies.  Acute  distempers 
no  doubt  they  have,  but  while  we  stayed  upon  the  island 
they  were  very  uncommon ;  possibly  in  the  rainy  season 
they  are  more  frequent.  Among  the  numerous  acquaintances 
I  had  upon  the  island  only  one  was  taken  ill  during  our 
stay.  I  visited  her  and  found  her,  as  is  their  custom,  left 
by  everybody  but  her  three  children,  who  sat  by  her ;  her 


1 68    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

complaint  was  colic,  which  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  at  all 
violent.  I  asked  her  what  medicine  she  took,  she  told  me 
none,  and  that  she  depended  entirely  upon  the  priest,  who 
had  been  trying  to  free  her  from  her  distemper  by  his 
prayers  and  ceremonies,  which,  she  said,  he  would  repeat  till 
she  was  well,  showing  me  at  the  same  time  branches  of 
the  Thespesia  populnea,  which  he  had  left  with  her.  After 
this  I  left  her,  and  whether  through  the  priest's  ceremonies 
or  her  own  constitution,  she  came  down  to  our  tents  com- 
pletely recovered  in  three  days'  time. 

I  never  happened  to  be  present  when  the  priests  per- 
formed their  ceremonies  for  the  cure  x)f  sick  people ;  but 
one  of  our  gentlemen  who  was  informed  me  that  they  con- 
sisted of  nothing  but  the  repetition  of  certain  fixed  sentences, 
during  which  time  the  priest  plaited  leaves  of  the  cocoanut 
tree  into  different  figures,  neatly  enough ;  some  of  which  he 
fastened  to  the  fingers  and  toes  of  the  sick  man,  who  was  at 
the  time  uncovered,  out  of  respect  to  the  prayers.  The 
whole  ceremony  almost  exactly  resembled  their  method 
of  praying  at  the  marais,  which  I  shall  by  and  by  describe. 
They  appear,  however,  to  have  some  knowledge  of  medicine, 
besides  these  operations  of  priestcraft.  That  they  have 
skilful  surgeons  among  them  we  easily  gathered  from  the 
dreadful  scars  of  wounds  which  we  frequently  saw  cured, 
some  of  which  were  far  greater  than  any  I  have  seen  any- 
where else ;  and  these  were  made  by  stones  which  these 
people  throw  with  slings  with  great  dexterity  and  force. 
One  man  I  particularly  recollect  whose  face  was  almost 
entirely  destroyed ;  yet  this  dreadful  wound  had  healed 
cleanly  without  any  ulcer  remaining.  Tupia,  who  has  had 
several  wounds,  had  one  made  by  a  spear  headed  with  the 
bone  of  a  sting-ray's  tail  which  had  pierced  right  through 
his  body,  entering  at  his  back  and  coming  out  just  under 
his  breast ;  yet  this  has  been  so  well  cured  that  the  remain- 
ing scar  is  as  smooth  and  as  small  as  any  I  have  seen  from 
the  cures  by  our  best  European  surgeons. 

Vulnerary  herbs  they  have  many,  nor  do  they  seem  at 
all  nice  in  the  choice  of  them.  They  have  plenty  of  such 


1769  MEDICINE  169 

herbaceous  plants  as  yield  mild  juices  devoid  of  all  acridity, 
similar  to  the  English  chickweed,  groundsel,  etc. ;  with  these 
they  make  fomentations,  which  they  frequently  apply  to  the 
wound,  taking  care  to  cleanse  it  as  often  as  possible ;  the 
patient  all  the  time  observing  great  abstinence.  By  this 
method,  if  they  have  told  me  truly,  their  wounds  are  cured 
in  a  very  short  time.  As  for  their  medicines  we  learned  but 
little  concerning  them ;  they  told  us,  and  indeed  freely,  that 
such  and  such  plants  were  good  for  such  and  such  distempers, 
but  it  required  a  much  better  knowledge  of  the  language 
than  we  were  able  to  obtain  during  our  short  stay  to  under- 
stand the  method  of  application. 

Their  manner  of  disposing  of  their  dead  as  well  as  the 
ceremonies  relating  to  their  mourning  are  so  remarkable 
that  they  deserve  a  very  particular  description.  As  soon  as 
any  one  is  dead  the  house  is  immediately  filled  with  his 
relations,  who  bewail  their  loss  with  loud  lamentations, 
especially  those  who  are  the  farthest  removed  in  blood  from, 
or  who  profess  the  least  grief  for,  the  deceased.  The 
nearer  relations  and  those  who  are  really  affected  spend 
their  time  in  more  silent  sorrow,  while  the  rest  join  in 
a  chorus  of  grief  at  certain  intervals,  between  which  they 
laugh,  talk,  and  gossip  as  if  totally  unconcerned.  This  lasts 
till  daylight  of  the  next  day,  when  the  body,  being  shrouded 
in  cloth,  is  laid  upon  a  kind  of  bier  on  which  it  can  con- 
veniently be  carried  on  men's  shoulders.  The  priest's  office 
now  begins  ;  he  prays  over  the  body,  repeating  his  sentences, 
and  orders  it  to  be  carried  down  to  the  sea-side.  Here  his 
prayers  are  renewed ;  the  corpse  is  brought  down  near  the 
water's  edge,  and  he  sprinkles  water  towards  but  not  upon 
it ;  it  is  then  removed  forty  or  fifty  yards  from  the  sea,  and 
soon  after  brought  back.  This  ceremony  is  repeated  several 
times.  In  the  meantime  a  house  has  been  built  and  a  small 
space  of  ground  round  it  railed  in  ;  in  the  centre  of  this  house 
are  posts,  upon  which  the  bier,  as  soon  as  the  ceremonies  are 
finished,  is  set.  On  these  the  corpse  is  to  remain  and 
putrefy  in  state,  to  the  no  small  disgust  of  every  one  whose 
business  requires  him  to  pass  near  it. 


i;o    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

These  houses  of  corruption,  tu  papow,  are  of  a  size  pro- 
portionate to  the  rank  of  the  person  contained  in  them.  If 
he  is  poor  it  merely  covers  the  bier,  and  generally  has  no 
railing  round  it.  The  largest  I  ever  saw  was  eleven  yards 
in  length.  These  houses  are  ornamented  according  to  the 
ability  and  inclination  of  the  surviving  relations,  who  never 
fail  to  lay  a  profusion  of  good  cloth  about  the  body,  and 
often  almost  cover  the  outside  of  the  house ;  the  two  ends, 
which  are  open,  are  also  hung  with  garlands  of  the  fruits 
of  the  palm-nut  (Pandanm),  cocoanut  leaves  knotted  by 
the  priests,  mystic  roots,  and  a  plant  called  by  them  ethee 
nota  marai  (Terminalia),  which  is  particularly  consecrated 
to  funerals.  Near  the  house  is  also  laid  fish,  fruits,  and 
cocoanut s,  or  common  water,  or  such  provisions  as  can 
well  be  spared ;  not  that  they  suppose  the  dead  in  any- 
way capable  of  eating  this  provision,  but  they  think  that 
if  any  of  their  gods  should  descend  upon  that  place,  and 
being  hungry  find  that  these  preparations  had  been  neglected, 
he  would  infallibly  satisfy  his  appetite  with  the  flesh  of  the 
corpse. 

No  sooner  is  the  corpse  fixed  up  within  the  house,  or 
ewhatta,  as  they  call  it,  than  the  ceremony  of  mourning 
begins  again.  The  women  (for  the  men  seem  to  think 
lamentations  beneath  their  dignity)  assemble,  led  on  by  the 
nearest  relative,  who,  walking  up  to  the  door  of  the  house, 
swimming  almost  in  tears,  strikes  a  shark's  tooth  several 
times  into  the  crown  of  her  head ;  the  blood  which  results 
from  these  wounds  is  carefully  caught  in  their  linen,  and 
thrown  under  the  bier.  Her  example  is  imitated  by  the 
rest  of  the  women;  and  this  ceremony  is  repeated  at  intervals 
of  two  or  three  days,  as  long  as  the  women  are  willing  or 
able  to  keep  it  up  ;  the  nearest  relation  thinking  it  her 
duty  to  continue  it  longer  than  any  one  else.  Besides  this 
blood — which  they  believe  to  be  an  acceptable  present  to  the 
deceased,  whose  soul  they  believe  to  exist,  and  hover  about 
the  place  where  the  body  lays,  observing  the  action  of  the 
survivors — they  throw  in  cloths  wet  with  tears,  of  which  all 
that  are  shed  are  carefully  preserved  for  that  purpose ;  and 


1769  MOURNING  CEREMONIES  171 

the  younger  people  cut  off  all  or  a  part  of  their  hair,  and 
throw  that  also  under  the  bier. 

When  the  ceremonies  have  been  performed  for  two  or 
three  days,  the  men,  who  till  now  seemed  to  be  entirely 
insensible  of  their  loss,  begin  their  part.  They  have  a 
peculiar  dress  for  this  occasion,  and  patrol  the  woods  early 
in  the  morning  and  late  at  night,  preceded  by  two  or  three 
boys,  who  have  nothing  upon  them  but  a  small  piece  of 
cloth  round  their  waists,  and  who  are  smutted  all  over 
with  charcoal.  These  sable  emissaries  run  about  their 
principal  in  all  directions,  as  if  in  pursuit  of  people  on 
whom  he  may  vent  the  rage  inspired  by  his  sorrow,  which  he 
does  most  unmercifully  if  he  catches  any  one,  cutting  them 
with  his  stick,  the  edge  of  which  is  set  with  shark's  teeth. 
But  this  rarely  or  never  happens,  for  no  sooner  does  this  figure 
appear  than  every  one  who  sees  either  him  or  his  emissaries, 
inspired  with  a  sort  of  religious  awe,  flies  with  the  utmost 
speed,  hiding  wherever  he  thinks  himself  safest,  but  by  all 
means  quitting  his  house  if  it  lies  even  near  the  path  of 
this  dreadful  apparition. 

These  ceremonies  continue  for  five  moons,  decreasing, 
however,  in  frequency  very  much  towards  the  latter  part 
of  that  time.  The  body  is  then  taken  down  from  the 
ewha&a,  the  bones  washed  and  scraped  very  clean,  and 
buried  according  to  the  rank  of  the  person,  either  within  or 
without  some  one  of  their  marais  or  places  of  public 
worship ;  and  if  it  is  one  of  their  earees,  or  chiefs,  his  skull 
is  preserved,  and,  wrapped  up  in  fine  cloth,  is  placed  in  a 
kind  of  case  made  for  the  purpose,  which  stands  in  the 
marai.  The  mourning  then  ceases,  unless  some  of  the 
women,  who  find  themselves  more  than  commonly  afflicted 
by  their  loss,  repeat  the  ceremony  of  poopooing,  or  bleeding 
themselves  in  the  head,  which  they  do  at  any  time  or  in  any 
place  they  happen  to  be  when  the  whim  takes  them. 

The  ceremonies,  however,  are  far  from  ceasing  at  this 
stage  ;  frequent  prayers  must  be  said  by  the  priest,  and 
frequent  offerings  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  deceased,  or 
more  properly  for  that  of  the  priests,  who  are  well  paid 


i;2    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

for  their  prayers  by  the  surviving  relations.  During  the 
ceremony  emblematical  devices  are  made  use  of;  a  young 
plantain  tree  signifies  the  deceased,  and  a  bundle  of  feathers 
the  deity  invoked.  Opposite  to  this  the  priest  places 
himself,  often  attended  by  relations  of  the  deceased,  and 
always  furnished  with  a  small  offering  of  some  kind  of 
eatables  intended  for  the  god.  He  begins  by  addressing 
the  god  by  a  set  form  of  sentences,  and  during  the  time  he 
repeats  them  employs  himself  in  weaving  cocoanut  leaves 
into  different  forms,  all  which  he  disposes  upon  the  grave 
where  the  bones  have  been  deposited  ;  the  deity  is  then 
addressed  by  a  shrill  screech,  used  only  on  that  occasion, 
and  the  offering  presented  to  his  representative  (the  little 
tuft  of  feathers),  which  after  this  is  removed,  and  everything 
else  left  in  statu  quo,  to  the  no  small  emolument  of  the  rats, 
who  quietly  devour  the  offering. 

Keligion  has  been  in  all  ages,  and  is  still  in  all  countries, 
clothed  in  mysteries  inexplicable  to  human  understanding. 
In  the  South  Sea  Islands  it  has  still  another  disadvantage 
to  any  one  who  desires  to  investigate  it :  the  language  in 
which  it  is  conveyed,  or  at  least  many  words  of  it,  is 
different  from  that  of  common  conversation ;  so  that  although 
Tupia  often  showed  the  greatest  desire  to  instruct  us  in  it, 
he  found  it  almost  impossible.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
remember  how  difficult  it  would  be  to  reconcile  the  apparent 
inconsistencies  of  our  own  religion  to  the  faith  of  an  infidel, 
and  to  recollect  how  many  excellent  discourses  are  daily 
read  to  instruct  even  us  in  the  faith  which  we  profess,  to 
excuse  me  when  I  declare  that  I  know  less  of  the  religion  of 
these  people  than  of  any  other  part  of  their  policy.  What 
I  do  know,  however,  I  shall  here  write  down,  hoping  that 
inconsistencies  may  not  appear  to  the  eye  of  the  candid 
reader  as  absurdities. 

This  universe  and  its  marvellous  parts  must  strike  the 
most  stupid  with  a  desire  of  knowing  from  whence  they 
themselves  and  it  were  produced ;  their  priests,  however, 
have  not  ideas  sufficiently  enlarged  to  adopt  that  of  creation. 
That  this  world  should  have  been  originally  created  from 


1769  RELIGION 


173 


nothing  far  surpasses  their  comprehension.  They  observed, 
however,  that  every  animal  and  every  plant  produced  others, 
and  adopted  the  idea ;  hence  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  two 
original  beings,  one  of  whom  they  called  Ettoomoo,  and  the 
other,  which  they  say  was  a  rock,  Tepapa.  These,  at  some 
very  remote  period  of  time,  produced  men  and  women,  and 
from  their  children  is  derived  all  that  is  seen  or  known  to 
us.  Some  things,  however,  they  imagine,  increased  among 
themselves,  as  the  stars,  the  different  species  of  plants,  and 
even  the  different  divisions  of  time — the  year,  say  they, 
produced  the  months,  who  in  their  turn  produced  the  days. 

Their  gods  are  numerous,  and  are  divided  into  two 
classes,  the  greater  and  the  lesser  gods,  and  in  each  class 
some  are  of  both  sexes.  The  chief  of  all  is  Tarroatiettoomoo, 
the  father  of  all  things,  whom  they  emphatically  style  the 
"  Causer  of  Earthquakes " ;  his  son,  Tane,  is,  however, 
much  more  generally  invoked,  as  he  is  supposed  to  be  the 
more  active  deity.  The  men  worship  the  male  gods,  and 
the  women  the  females ;  the  men,  however,  supply  the 
office  of  priest  for  both  sexes. 

They  believe  in  a  heaven  and  a  hell :  the  first  they  call 
Tamrua  1'orai,  the  other  tiahoboo.  Heaven  they  describe  as 
a  place  of  great  happiness,  while  hell  is  only  a  place  enjoy- 
ing less  of  the  luxuries  of  life :  to  this,  they  say,  the 
souls  of  the  inferior  people  go  after  death,  and  those  of 
the  chiefs  and  rich  men  go  to  heaven.  This  is  one  of  the 
strongest  instances  to  show  that  their  religion  is  totally 
independent  of  morality,  no  actions  regarding  their  neigh- 
bours are  supposed  to  come  at  all  under  the  cognisance  of 
the  diety :  a  humble  regard  only  is  to  be  shown  him,  and 
his  assistance  asked  on  all  occasions  with  much  ceremony 
and  some  sacrifice,  from  whence  are  derived  the  perquisites 
of  the  priests. 

The  Tahowa,  or  priest,  is  here  a  hereditary  dignity. 
These  priests  are  numerous :  the  chief  of  them  is  generally  the 
younger  brother  of  some  very  good  family,  and  ranks  next 
to  the  king.  All  priests  are  commonly  more  learned  than 
the  laity :  their  learning  consists  chiefly  in  knowing  well 


174    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

the  names  and  rank  of  the  different  Eatuas,  or  divinities,  the 
origin  of  the  universe  and  all  its  parts,  etc.  This  knowledge 
has  been  handed  down  to  them  in  set  sentences,  of  which 
those  who  are  clever  can  repeat  an  almost  infinite  number. 

Besides  religion,  the  practice  of  physic  and  the  knowledge 
of  navigation  and  astronomy  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
priests :  the  name  indeed,  Tahowa,  signifies  a  man  of 
knowledge,  so  that  even  here  the  priests  monopolise  the 
greater  part  of  the  learning  of  the  country  in  much  the 
same  manner  as  they  formerly  did  in  Europe.  From  their 
learning  they  gain  profit  as  well  as  respect,  each  in  his 
particular  order ;  for  each  order  has  priests  of  its  own ;  nor 
would  those  of  the  manahounis  do  anything  for  a  toutou 
who  is  below  them. 

Marriage  in  these  islands  is  no  more  than  an  agreement 
between  man  and  woman,  totally  independent  of  the  priest ; 
it  is  in  general,  I  believe,  well  kept,  unless  the  parties  agree 
to  separate,  which  is  done  with  as  little  trouble  as  they  came 
together.  Few  people,  however,  enter  this  state,  but  rather 
choose  freedom,  though  bought  at  the  inhuman  expense  of 
murdering  their  children,  whose  fate  is  in  that  case  entirely 
dependent  on  the  father,  who  if  he  does  not  choose  to 
acknowledge  both  them  and  the  woman,  and  engage  to  con- 
tribute his  part  towards  their  support,  orders  the  child  to  be 
strangled,  which  is  instantly  put  in  execution. 

If  our  priests  have  excelled  theirs  in  persuading  us  that 
marriage  cannot  be  lawful  without  their  benediction  having 
been  bought,  they  have  done  it  by  intermingling  it  so  far 
with  religion  that  the  fear  of  punishment  from  above  secures 
their  power  over  us ;  but  these  untaught  persons  have 
secured  to  themselves  the  profit  of  two  operations  without 
being  driven  to  the  necessity  of  so  severe  a  penalty  on  the 
refusal,  viz.  tattowirig  and  circumcision;  neither  of  these 
can  be  performed  by  any  but  priests,  and  as  the  highest 
degree  of  shame  attaches  to  the  neglect  of  either,  the  people 
are  as  much  obliged  to  make  use  of  them  as  if  bound  by  the 
highest  ties  of  religion,  of  which  both  customs  are  totally 
independent.  They  give  no  reason  for  the  tattowing  but 


1769  MARAIS  175 

that  their  ancestors  did  the  same :  for  both  these  operations 
the  priests  are  paid  by  every  one  according  to  his  ability, 
in  the  same  manner  as  weddings,  christenings,  etc.,  etc.,  are 
paid  for  in  Europe.  Their  places  of  public  worship,  or 
marais,  are  square  enclosures  of  very  different  sizes,  from 
ten  to  a  hundred  yards  in  length.  At  one  end  a  heap  or 
pile  of  stones  is  built  up,  near  which  the  bones  of  the 
principal  people  are  interred,  those  of  their  dependents 
lying  all  round  on  the  outside  of  the  wall.  Near  or  in 
these  enclosures  are  often  placed  planks  carved  into  different 
figures,  and  very  frequently  images  of  many  men  standing 
on  each  other's  heads ;  these,  however,  are  in  no  degree  the 
objects  of  adoration,  every  prayer  and  sacrifice  being  offered 
to  invisible  deities. 

Near,  or  even  within  the  marai,  are  one  or  more  large 
altars,  raised  on  high  posts  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the 
ground,  which  are  called  ewhattas ;  on  these  are  laid  the 
offerings,  hogs,  dogs,  fowls,  fruits,  or  whatever  else  the  piety 
or  superfluity  of  the  owner  thinks  proper  to  dedicate  to  the 
gods. 

Both  these  places  are  reverenced  in  the  highest  degree : 
no  man  approaches  them  without  taking  his  clothes  from  off 
his  shoulders,  and  no  woman  is  on  any  account  permitted 
to  enter  them.  The  women,  however,  have  marais  of  their 
own,  where  they  worship  and  sacrifice  to  their  goddesses. 

Of  these  marais  each  family  of  consequence  has  one, 
which  serves  for  himself  and  his  dependents.  As  each 
family  values  itself  on  its  antiquity,  so  are  the  marais 
esteemed:  in  the  Society  Isles,  especially  Ulhietea,  were 
some  of  great  antiquity,  particularly  that  of  Tapo  de  boatea. 
The  material  of  these  is  rough  and  coarse,  but  the  stones  of 
which  they  are  composed  are  immensely  large.  At  Otahite 
again,  where  from  frequent  wars  or  other  accidents  many 
of  the  most  ancient  families  are  extinct,  they  have  tried  to 
make  them  as  elegant  and  expensive  as  possible,  of  which 
sort  is  that  of  Oamo  (described  on  pp.  102-4). 

Besides  their  gods,  each  island  has  a  bird,  to  which  the 
title  of  Eatua  or  god  is  given  :  for  instance  Ulhietea  has  the 


1 76    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

heron,  and  Bola-Bola  a  kind  of  kingfisher :  these  birds  are 
held  in  high  respect,  and  are  never  killed  or  molested :  they 
are  thought  to  be  givers  of  good  or  bad  fortune,  but  no  sort 
of  worship  is  offered  to  them. 

Though  I  dare  not  assert  that  these  people,  to  whom  the 
art  of  writing,  and  consequently  of  recording  laws,  etc.,  is 
totally  unknown,  live  under  a  regular  form  of  government, 
yet  the  subordination  which  takes  place  among  them  very 
much  resembles  the  early  state  of  the  feudal  laws,  by  which 
our  ancestors  were  so  long  governed,  a  system  evidently 
formed  to  secure  the  licentious  liberty  of  a  few,  while  the 
greater  part  of  the  society  are  unalterably  immersed  in  the 
most  abject  slavery. 

Their  orders  are  Earee  ra  hie,  which  answers  to  king ; 
earee,  baron ;  manahouni,  vassal ;  and  toutou,  villain.  The 
earee  ra  hie  is  always  the  head  of  the  best  family  in  the 
country :  to  him  great  respect  is  paid  by  all  ranks,  but  in 
power  he  seemed  to  be  inferior  to  several  of  the  principal 
earees,  nor  indeed  did  he  once  appear  in  the  transaction  of 
any  part  of  our  business.  Next  to  him  in  rank  are  the 
earees,  each  of  whom  holds  one  or  more  of  the  districts  into 
which  the  island  is  divided :  in  Otahite  there  may  be  about 
a  hundred  such  districts,  which  are  by  the  earees  parcelled 
out  to  the  manahounis,  each  of  whom  cultivates  his  part, 
and  for  the  use  of  it  owes  his  chief  service  and  provisions 
when  called  upon,  especially  when  the  latter  travels,  which  he 
constantly  does,  accompanied  by  many  of  his  friends  and 
their  families,  often  amounting  to  nearly  a  hundred  principals, 
besides  their  attendants.  Inferior  to  the  manahounis  are 
the  toutous,  who  are  almost  upon  the  same  footing  as  the 
slaves  in  the  East  Indian  Islands,  only  that  they  never 
appeared  transferable  from  one  to  the  other.  These  do  all 
kinds  of  laborious  work  :  till  the  land,  fetch  wood  and  water, 
dress  the  victuals,  under  the  direction,  however,  of  the 
mistress  of  the  family,  catch  fish,  etc.  Besides  these  are 
the  two  classes  of  erata  and  towha,  who  seem  to  answer  to 
yeomen  and  gentlemen,  as  they  came  between  the  earee  and 
manahouni :  but  as  I  was  not  acquainted  with  the  existence 


1769  RANKS  AND  CLASSES  177 

of  these  classes  during  our  stay  in  the  island,  I  know  little 
of  their  real  situation. 

Each  of  the  earees  keeps  a  kind  of  court,  and  has  a  large 
attendance,  chiefly  of  the  younger  brothers  of  his  own 
family  and  of  other  earees.  Among  these  were  different 
officers  of  the  court,  as  Heewa  no  t'  Earee,  Whanno  no  t' 
Earee,  who  were  sometimes  sent  to  us  on  business.  Of  all 
these  courts  Dootahah's  was  the  most  splendid,  indeed  we 
were  almost  inclined  to  believe  that  he  acted  as  locum  tenens 
for  Otow,  the  Earee  ra  hie  being  his  nephew,  as  he  lived 
upon  an  estate  belonging  to  him,  and  we  never  could  hear 
that  he  had  any  other  public  place  of  residence. 

The  earees,  or  rather  the  districts  which  they  possess, 
are  obliged  in  time  of  a  general  attack  to  furnish  each 
their  quota  of  soldiers  for  the  public  service ;  those  of  the 
principal  districts  which  Tupia  recollected,  when  added 
together,  amounted  to  6680  men,  to  which  army  it  is 
probable  that  the  small  quotas  of  the  rest  would  not  make 
any  great  addition. 

Besides  these  public  wars,  which  must  be  headed  by  the 
JEaree  ra  hie,  any  private  difference  between  two  earees  is 
decided  by  their  own  people  without  in  the  least  disturbing 
the  tranquillity  of  the  public.  Their  weapons  are  slings, 
which  they  use  with  great  dexterity,  pikes  headed  with  the 
stings  of  sting-rays,  and  clubs  six  or  seven  feet  long,  made 
of  a  very  heavy  and  hard  wood ;  with  these  they  fight  by 
their  own  account  very  obstinately,  which  appears  the  more 
probable  as  the  conquerors  give  no  quarter  to  any  man, 
woman,  or  child  who  is  unfortunate  enough  to  fall  into 
their  hands  during  or  for  some  time  after  the  battle,  that 
is,  until  their  passion  has  subsided. 

Otahite  at  the  time  of  our  stay  there  was  divided  into 
two  kingdoms,  Oporenoo,  the  larger,  and  Tiarrebo ;  each  had 
its  separate  king,  etc.  etc.,  who  were  at  peace  with  each 
other ;  the  king  of  Oporenoo,  however,  called  himself  king 
of  both,  in  just  the  same  manner  as  European  monarchs 
usurp  the  title  of  king  over  kingdoms  in  which  they  have 
not  the  least  influence. 

N 


178    GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS   CH.  vn 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  in  a  government  of  this 
kind  justice  can  be  properly  administered,  we  saw  indeed 
no  signs  of  punishment  during  our  stay.  Tupia,  however, 
always  insisted  upon  it  that  theft  was  punished  with  death, 
and  smaller  crimes  in  proportion.  All  punishments,  how- 
ever, were  the  business  of  the  injured  party,  who,  if  superior 
to  him  who  committed  the  crime,  easily  executed  them  by 
means  of  his  more  numerous  attendants ;  equals  seldom 
chose  to  molest  each  other,  unless  countenanced  by  their 
superiors,  who  assisted  them  to  defend  their  unjust  acquisi- 
tions. The  chiefs,  however,  to  whom  in  reality  all  kinds 
of  property  belong,  punish  their  dependents  for  crimes 
committed  against  each  other,  and  the  dependents  of  others, 
if  caught  doing  wrong  within  their  districts. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SOUTH    SEA    ISLANDS    TO    NEW    ZEALAND    (THAMES   RIVER) 
AUG.  15— Nov.  22,  1769 

Waterspout — Comet :  its  effect  on  natives— Diary  at  sea— Condition  of  ship's 
supplies — Port  Egmont  hens — Land  of  New  Zealand  made — A  native 
shot — Conflict  with  natives — Capture  of  a  canoe — Poverty  Bay — Natives 
come  on  board — Their  appearance  and  clothing — Boy  seized  by  natives — 
Appearance  of  the  land — Occupations  of  the  natives — Bracken  as  food — 
Mode  of  fighting — Religion — A  large  canoe — Natives  throw  stones  on 
board — Coast  along  New  Zealand— Habits  of  natives — Transit  of  Mercury 
— Shags — Oysters — Lobster-catching — Heppahs  or  forts — Thames  River — 
Timber  trees. 

1 6th  August  1769.  Early  this  morning  we  were  told  that 
land  was  in  sight.  It  proved  to  be  a  cloud,  but  at  first  sight 
was  so  like  land  that  it  deceived  every  man  in  the  ship  ;  even 
Tupia  gave  it  a  name. 

Vlfh.  A  heavy  swell  from  the  south-west  all  day,  so  we 
are  not  yet  under  the  lee  of  the  continent.  Our  taros 
(roots  like  a  yam,  called  in  the  West  Indies  cocos)  failed  us 
to-day ;  many  of  them  were  rotten.  They  would  probably 
have  kept  longer  had  we  had  either  time  or  opportunity  of 
drying  them  well,  but  I  believe  that  at  the  best  they  are 
very  much  inferior  to  either  yams  or  potatoes  for  keeping. 

24ith.  The  morning  was  calm.  About  nine  it  began 
to  blow  fresh  with  rain,  which  came  on  without  the  least 
warning ;  at  the  same  time  a  waterspout  was  seen  to  lee- 
ward. It  appeared  to  me  so  inconsiderable,  that  had  it  not 
been  pointed  out  to  me,  I  should  not  have  particularly 
noticed  the  appearance.  It  resembled  a  line  of  thick  mist, 
as  thick  as  a  middling-sized  tree,  which  reached,  not  in  a 


i8o         SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS  TO  NEW  ZEALAND     CH.  vni 

straight  line,  almost  to  the  water's  edge,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  totally  disappeared.  Its  distance,  I  suppose,  made 
it  appear  so  trifling,  as  the  seamen  judged  it  to  be  not  less 
than  two  or  three  miles  from  us. 

29th.  In  the  course  of  last  night  a  phenomenon  was 
seen  in  the  heavens  which  Mr.  Green  says  is  either  a  comet 
or  a  nebula ;  he  does  not  know  which ;  the  seamen  have 
observed  it  these  three  nights. 

30th.  Our  comet  is  this  morning  acknowledged,  and 
proves  a  very  large  one,  but  very  faint.  Tupia,  as  soon  as 
he  saw  it,  declared  that  the  people  of  Bola-Bola  would,  upon 
the  sight  of  it,  kill  the  people  of  Ulhietea,  of  whom  as  many 
as  were  able  would  fly  into  the  mountains.  Several  birds 
were  seen :  pintados,  albatrosses  of  both  kinds,  the  little 
silver-backed  bird  which  we  saw  off  the  Falkland  Isles 
and  Cape  Horn  (Procellaria  velox),  and  a  gray  shearwater. 
Peter  saw  a  green  bird  about  the  size  of  a  dove :  the  colour 
makes  us  hope  that  it  is  a  land  bird ;  it  took,  however,  not 
the  least  notice  of  the  ship.  Some  seaweed  was  also  seen 
to  pass  by  the  ship,  but  as  it  was  a  very  small  piece,  our 
hopes  are  not  very  sanguine  on  that  head. 

3 1st.  Many  millions,  I  may  safely  say,  of  the  Procellaria 
velox  mentioned  yesterday  were  about  the  ship  to-day ;  they 
were  grayish  on  the  back,  and  some  had  a  dark -coloured 
mark  going  in  a  crooked  direction  over  the  back  and  wings. 
I  tried  to-day  to  catch  some  of  these  numerous  attendants 
with  a  hook;  but  after  the  whole  morning  spent  in  the 
attempt  caught  only  one  pintado,  which  proved  to  be  Procel- 
laria capensis,  Linn. 

19th  September.  Shot  Procellaria  velox  (the  dove  of  the 
31st),  P.  vagabunda  (a  gray  -  backed  shearwater)  and  a 
Passerina.  Took  with  the  dipping-net  Medusa  vitrea, 
Phyllodoce  velella  (to  one  species  of  which  adhered  Lepas 
anatifera),  Doris  complanata,  Helix  violacea,1  and  a  Cancer. 

23rd.  Dr.  Solander  has  been  unwell  for  some  days,  so 
to-day  I  opened  Dr.  Hulme's  essence  of  lemon  juice,  Mr. 
Monkhouse  having  prescribed  it  for  him ;  it  proved  perfectly 

1  A  species  of  lanthina. 


SEPT.  1769     CONDITION  OF  SHIP'S  PROVISIONS  181 

good,  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  in  taste  to  fresh  lemon  juice. 
We  also  to-day  made  a  pie  of  the  North  American  apples 
which  Dr.  Fothergill  had  given  me,  and  which  proved  very 
good ;  if  not  quite  equal  to  the  apple  pies  which  our  friends 
in  England  are  now  eating,  good  enough  to  please  us  who 
have  been  so  long  deprived  of  the  fruits  of  our  native  country. 
In  the  main,  however,  we  are  very  well  off  for  refreshments 
and  provisions  of  most  sorts.  Our  ship's  beef  and  pork  are 
excellent ;  peas,  flour,  and  oatmeal  are  at  present,  and  have 
been  in  general,  very  good ;  our  water  is  as  sweet  and 
has  rather  more  spirit  than  it  had  when  drank  out  of  the 
river  at  Otahite ;  our  bread,  indeed,  is  but  indifferent,  occa- 
sioned by  the  quantity  of  vermin  that  are  in  it.  I  have 
often  seen  hundreds,  nay,  thousands,  shaken  out  of  a  single 
biscuit.  We  in  the  cabin  have,  however,  an  easy  remedy  for 
this,  by  baking  it  in  an  oven,  not  too  hot,  which  makes  them 
all  walk  off ;  but  this  cannot  be  allowed  to  the  ship's  people, 
who  must  find  the  taste  of  these  animals  very  disagreeable, 
as  they  every  one  taste  as  strong  as  mustard,  or  rather 
spirits  of  hartshorn.  They  are  of  five  kinds,  three  Tenebrio, 
one  Ptinus,  and  the  PJialangium  canchroides ;  this  last,  how- 
ever, is  scarce  in  the  common  bread,  but  vastly  plentiful  in 
white  meal  biscuits,  as  long  as  we  had  any  left. 

Wheat  has  been  boiled  for  the  breakfasts  of  the  ship's 
company  two  or  three  times  a  week,  in  the  same  manner  as 
frumenty  is  made.  This  has,  I  believe,  been  a  very  useful 
refreshment  to  them,  as  well  as  an  agreeable  food,  which  I 
myself  and  most  of  the  officers  in  the  ship  have  constantly 
breakfasted  upon  in  the  cold  weather.  The  grain  was  origin- 
ally of  a  good  quality,  and  has  kept  without  the  least  damage. 
This,  however,  cannot  be  said  of  the  malt,  of  which  we  have 
plainly  had  two  kinds,  one  very  good,  which  was  used  up 
some  time  ago.  What  we  are  at  present  using  is  good  for 
nothing  at  all;  it  was  originally  of  a  bad  light  grain,  and 
so  little  care  has  been  taken  in  making  it  that  the  tails  are 
left  in  with  innumerable  other  kinds  of  dirt ;  add  to  all 
this  that  it  has  been  damped  on  board  ship  ;  so  that,  with  all 
the  care  that  can  be  used,  it  will  scarce  give  a  tincture  to 


182         SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDS  TO  NEW  ZEALAND     CH.  vm 

water.  Portable  soup  is  very  good ;  it  has  now  and  then 
required  an  airing  to  prevent  it  from  moulding.  Sour  crout 
is  as  good  as  ever. 

So  much  for  the  ship's  company  :  we  ourselves  are  hardly 
as  well  off  as  they.  Our  live  stock  consists  of  seventeen 
sheep,  four  or  five  fowls,  as  many  South  Sea  hogs,  four  or  five 
Muscovy  ducks,  and  an  English  hoar  and  sow  with  a  litter 
of  pigs.  In  the  use  of  these  we  are  rather  sparing,  as  the 
time  of  our  getting  a  fresh  supply  is  rather  precarious. 
Salt  stock  we  have  nothing  worth  mentioning,  except  a  kind 
of  salt  beef  and  salted  cabbage.  Our  malt  liquors  have 
answered  extremely  well ;  we  have  now  both  small  beer  and 
porter  upon  tap,  as  good  as  I  ever  drank  them,  especially 
the  latter.  The  small  beer  had  some  art  used  to  make  it 
keep.  Our  wine  I  cannot  say  much  for,  though  I  believe  it 
to  be  good  in  its  nature ;  we  have  not  had  a  glass  full  these 
many  months,  I  believe  chiefly  owing  to  the  carelessness  or 
ignorance  of  the  steward. 

2nd  October.  Took  Dagysa  rostrata,  serena,  and  polyedra  ; 
Beroe  incrassata  and  coarctata ;  Medusa  vitrea  ;  PJiyllodoce 
velella,  with  several  other  things  which  are  all  put  in  spirits  ; 
Diomedea  exulans  ;  Procellaria  velox,  palmipes,  latirostris,  and 
longipes  ;  and  Nectris  fuliginosa. 

3rd.  In  the  course  of  the  day  several  pieces  of  a  new 
species  of  seaweed  were  taken,  and  one  piece  of  wood  covered 
with  striated  barnacles  (Lepas  anserina). 

5th.  Two  seals  passed  the  ship  asleep,  and  three  birds 
which  Mr.  Gore  calls  Port  Egmont  hens  (Larus  catarrhactes). 
He  says  they  are  a  sure  sign  of  our  being  near  land.  They 
are  something  larger  than  a  crow ;  in  flight  much  like  one, 
flapping  their  wings  often  with  a  slow  motion.  Their 
bodies  and  wings  are  of  a  dark  chocolate  or  soot  colour ; 
under  each  wing  is  a  small  broadish  bar  of  a  dirty  white, 
which  makes  them  so  remarkable  that  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  mistake  them.  They  are  seen,  as  he  says,  all  along  the 
coast  of  South  America  and  the  Falkland  Isles.  I  myself 
remember  to  have  seen  them  at  Terra  del  Fuego,  but  by 
some  accident  did  not  note  them  down. 


OCT.  1769  OFF  NEW  ZEALAND  183 

*lth.  This  morning  the  land  was  plainly  seen  from  the 
deck ;  it  appears  to  be  very  large.  About  eleven  a  large 
smoke  was  seen,  and  soon  after  several  more  sure  signs  of 
inhabitants.  I  shot  Nectris  munda  and  Procellaria  velox, 
and  took  with  the  dipping-net  Dagysa  gemma,  and  a  good 
deal  of  Fucus  sertularia,  etc.,  the  examination  of  which  is 
postponed  till  we  shall  have  more  time  than  we  are  likely 
to  have  at  present. 

8th.  This  morning  we  are  very  near  the  land,  which 
forms  many  white  cliffs  like  chalk.  The  hills  are  in  general 
clothed  with  trees ;  in  the  valleys  some  appear  to  be  very 
large.  The  whole  appearance  is  not  so  fruitful  as  we  could 
wish.  We  stood  in  for  a  large  bay  in  hopes  of  finding  a 
harbour,  and  before  we  were  well  within  the  heads  we  saw 
several  canoes  standing  across  the  bay,  which  after  a  little 
time  returned  to  the  place  they  came  from  without  appear- 
ing to  take  the  least  notice  of  us.  Some  houses  were  also 
seen,  which  appeared  low  but  neat ;  near  one  of  them  there 
were  a  good  many  people  collected,  who  sat  down  upon  the 
beach,  seemingly  observing  us.  On  a  small  peninsular  at 
the  north-east  head  we  could  plainly  see  a  regular  paling, 
pretty  high,  inclosing  the  top  of  a  hill,  for  what  purpose  many 
conjectures  were  made ;  most  are  of  opinion,  or  say  at  least, 
that  it  must  be  either  a  park  of  deer  or  a  field  of 
oxen  and  sheep.  By  four  o'clock  we  came  to  an  anchor 
nearly  two  miles  from  the  shore.  The  bay  appears  to  be 
quite  open,  without  the  least  shelter ;  the  two  sides  of  it 
make  in  high  white  cliffs ;  the  middle  is  lowland,  with  hills 
gradually  rising  behind  one  another  to  a  chain  of  high 
mountains  inland.  Here  we  saw  many  great  smokes,  some 
near  the  beach,  others  between  the  hills,  some  very  far 
within  land,  which  we  looked  upon  as  great  indications  of  a 
populous  country. 

In  the  evening  I  went  ashore  with  the  marines.  We 
marched  from  the  boats  in  hopes  of  finding  water,  etc.,  and 
saw  a  few  of  the  natives,  who  ran  away  immediately  on 
seeing  us.  While  we  were  absent  four  of  them  attacked 
our  small  boat,  in  which  were  only  four  boys.  They  got  off 


184  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

from  the  shore  in  a  river ;  the  people  followed  them  and 
threatened  with  long  lances ;  the  pinnace  soon  came  to  their 
assistance,  fired  upon  the  natives,  and  killed  the  chief.  The 
other  three  dragged  the  body  about  a  hundred  yards  and 
then  left  it.  At  the  report  of  the  muskets  we  drew 
together  and  went  to  the  place  where  the  body  was  left ;  it 
was  shot  through  the  heart.  He  was  a  middle-sized  man, 
tattowed  on  the  face  on  one  cheek  only,  in  spiral  lines  very 
regularly  formed.  He  was  covered  with  a  fine  cloth  of  a 
manufacture  totally  new  to  us ;  it  was  tied  on  exactly  as 
represented  in  Mr.  Dalrymple's  book,1  p.  6  3 ;  his  hair  was 
also  tied  in  a  knot  on  the  top  of  his  head,  but  there  was  no 
feather  stuck  in  it ;  his  complexion  brown  but  not  very  dark. 

Soon  after  we  came  on  board  we  very  distinctly  heard 
the  people  ashore  talking  very  loud,  although  they  were  not 
less  than  two  miles  distant  from  us. 

9th.  On  attempting  to  land  this  morning  the  Indians 
received  us  with  threatening  demonstrations,  but  a  musket 
fired  wide  of  them  intimidated  them,  and  they  allowed  us 
to  approach  near  enough  to  parley.  Tupia  found  their 
language  so  near  his  own  that  he  could  tolerably  well 
understand  them.  He  induced  them  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  we  gave  them  some  beads  and  iron,  neither  of 
which  they  seemed  to  value ;  indeed,  they  seemed  totally 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  the  latter.  They  constantly 
attempted  to  seize  our  arms,  or  anything  they  could  get,  so 
that  we  were  obliged  to  fire  on  them  and  disperse  them ; 
none  were,  we  hope,  killed.  Soon  after  we  intercepted  a 
native  canoe;  but  when  we  came  up  with  it,  the  owners 
made  so  desperate  a  resistance  that  we  were  compelled  to 
fire  upon  them,  killing  four;  the  other  three  (boys) 
attempted  to  swim  to  shore,  but  were  captured  and  taken 
on  board  the  ship.  On  finding  that  they  were  not  to  be 
killed,  they  at  once  recovered  their  spirits,  and  soon 
appeared  to  have  forgotten  everything  that  had  happened. 
At  supper  they  ate  an  enormous  quantity  of  bread,  and 

1  An  Account  of  the  Discoveries  made  in  the  South  Pacifick  Ocean,  previous  to 
1764.     By  Alexander  Dalrymple.     London,  1767. 


OCT.  1769  POVERTY  BAY  185 

drank  over  a  quart  of  water  apiece.  Thus  ended  the  most 
disagreeable  day  my  life  has  yet  seen ;  black  be  the  mark 
for  it,  and  heaven  send  that  such  may  never  return  to 
embitter  future  reflection. 

IQth.  The  native  boys,  after  being  loaded  with  presents, 
were  put  in  the  boats  and  rowed  ashore  by  our  men.  They 
at  first  begged  hard  not  to  be  set  ashore  at  the  place  where 
we  had  landed  yesterday,  and  to  which  we  first  rowed 
to-day,  but  afterwards  voluntarily  landed  there.  The 
natives  again  appeared  threatening,  but  it  was  presently 
discovered  that  they  were  friends  of  the  boys  we  had 
captured,  and  a  peace  was  presently  concluded  by  our 
acceptance  of  green  boughs  which  they  presented  to  us ;  a 
not  unimportant  ratification  apparently  being  the  removal 
by  them  of  the  body  of  the  man  killed  yesterday,  which  had 
remained  till  now  on  the  same  spot. 

11th.  This  morning  we  took  leave  of  Poverty  Bay,  as  we 
named  it,  with  not  above  forty  species  of  plants  in  our  boxes, 
which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  we  were  so  little  ashore, 
and  always  upon  the  same  spot.  The  only  time  when  we 
wandered  about  a  mile  from  the  boats  was  upon  a  swamp 
where  not  more  than  three  species  of  plants  were  found. 

Several  canoes  put  off  from  the  shore,  and  came  towards 
us  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  but  could  not  at 
first  be  persuaded  to  come  nearer.  At  last  one  was  seen 
coming  from  Poverty  Bay,  or  near  it.  She  had  only  four 
people  in  her,  one  of  whom  I  well  remembered  to  have  seen 
at  our  first  interview  on  the  rock.  These  never  stopped  to 
look  at  anything,  but  came  at  once  alongside  of  the  ship, 
and  with  very  little  persuasion  came  on  board.  Their 
example  was  quickly  followed  by  the  rest,  seven  canoes  in 
all,  and  fifty  men.  Many  presents  were  given  to  them, 
notwithstanding  which  they  very  quickly  sold  almost  every- 
thing that  they  had  with  them,  even  their  clothes  from  their 
backs,  and  the  paddles  out  of  their  boats.  Arms  they  had 
none,  except  two  men,  one  of  whom  sold  his 
patoo  patoo,  as  he  called  it,  a  short  weapon  of 
green  talc  of  this  shape,  intended,  doubtless,  for  fighting 


1 86  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

hand-to-hand,  and  certainly  well  contrived  for  splitting  skulls, 
as  it  weighs  not  less  than  four  or  five  pounds,  and  has  sharp 
edges  excellently  polished. 

The  people  were,  in  general,  of  a  middling  size,  though 
there  was  no  one  who  measured  more  than  six  feet.  Their 
colour  was  a  dark  brown.  Their  lips  were  stained  with 
something  put  under  the  skin  (as  in  the  Otahite  tattow),  and 
their  faces  marked  with  deeply  -  engraved  furrows,  also 
coloured  black,  and  formed  in  regular  spirals.  Of  these,  the 
oldest  people  had  much  the  greatest  quantity,  and  most 
deeply  channelled,  in  some  not  less  than  ^  part  of  an 
inch.  Their  hair  was  black,  and  tietl  up  on  the  tops  of 
their  heads  in  a  little  knot,  in  which  were  stuck  feathers 
of  various  birds  in  different  tastes,  according  to  the 
humour  of  the  wearer.  Sometimes  they  had  one  knot  on 
each  side,  and  pointing  forwards,  which  made  a  most  dis- 
agreeable appearance.  In  their  ears  they  generally  wore  a 
large  bunch  of  the  milk-white  down  of  some  bird.  The 
faces  of  some  were  painted  with  a  red  colour  in  oil,  some 
all  over,  others  in  parts  only.  In  their  hair  was  much  oil, 
which  had  very  little  smell,  but  more  lice  than  ever  I  saw 
before.  Most  of  them  had  a  small  comb,  neatly  enough 
made,  sometimes  of  wood,  sometimes  of  bone,  which  they 
seem  to  prize  much.  A  few  had  on  their  faces  or  arms 
regular  scars,  as  if  made  with  a  sharp  instrument,  such  as  I 
have  seen  on  the  faces  of  negroes.  The  inferior  sort  were 
clothed  in  something  that  very  much  resembled  hemp :  the 
loose  strings  of  this  were  fastened  together  at  the  top,  and  it 
hung  down  about  two  feet  like  a  petticoat.  Of  these 
garments  they  wore  two,  one  round  their  shoulders,  and  the 
other  about  their  waists.  The  richer  had  garments  probably 
of  a  finer  sort  of  the  same  stuff,  most  beautifully  made,  and 
exactly  like  that  of  the  South  American  Indians  at  this  day, 
and  as  fine,  or  finer,  than  a  piece  which  I  bought  at  Eio  de 
Janeiro  for  thirty-six  shillings,  and  which  was  esteemed  un- 
commonly cheap  at  that  price.  Their  boats  were  not  large, 
but  well  made,  something  like  our  whale  boats,  not  longer. 
The  bottom  was  the  trunk  of  a  tree  hollowed  out,  and  very 


OCT.  1769          APPEARANCE  OF  THE  NATIVES  187 

thin.  This  was  raised  by  a  board  on  each  side,  with  a  strip 
of  wood  sewed  over  the  seani  to  make  it  tight.  On  the 
prow  of  every  one  was  carved  the  head  of  a  man  with  an 
enormous  tongue  reaching  out  of  his  mouth.  These  gro- 
tesque figures  were  generally  very  well  executed;  some 
had  eyes  inlaid  with  something  that  shone  very  much.  The 
whole  served  to  give  us  an  idea  of  their  taste,  as  well  as 
ingenuity  in  execution.  It  was  certainly  much  superior 
to  anything  we  have  yet  seen. 

Their  behaviour  while  on  board  showed  every  sign  of 
friendship.  They  invited  us  very  cordially  to  come  back 
to  our  old  bay,  or  to  a  small  cove  near  it.  I  could  not  help 
wishing  that  we  had  done  so,  but  the  captain  chose  rather 
to  stand  on  in  search  of  a  better  harbour.  God  send  that  we 
may  not  have  the  same  tragedy  to  act  over  again  as  we  so 
lately  perpetrated.  The  country  is  certainly  divided  into  many 
small  principalities,  so  we  cannot  hope  that  an  account  of 
our  weapons  and  management  of  them  can  be  conveyed  as 
far  as  we  must  in  all  probability  go ;  and  of  this  I  am  well 
convinced,  that  till  these  warlike  people  have  severely  felt 
our  superiority  they  will  never  behave  to  us  in  a  friendly 
manner. 

About  an  hour  before  sunset  the  canoes  left  us,  and  with 
us  three  of  their  people,  who  were  very  desirous  to  have 
gone  with  them,  but  were  not  permitted  to  return.  What 
their  reason  for  so  doing  is  we  can  only  guess ;  possibly  they 
may  think  that  their  being  on  board  may  induce  us  to 
remain  here  till  to-morrow,  when  they  will  return  and 
renew  the  traffic  by  which  they  find  themselves  so  great 
gamers.  The  three  people  were  tolerably  cheerful ;  enter- 
tained us  with  dancing  and  singing  after  their  custom ;  ate 
their  suppers  and  went  to  bed  very  quietly. 

1 2th.  During  last  night  the  ship  sailed  some  leagues, 
which,  as  soon  as  the  three  men  saw,  they  began  to  lament 
and  weep  very  much,  and  Tupia  could  with  difficulty  comfort 
them.  About  seven  o'clock  two  canoes  appeared,  one  of 
which  contained  an  old  man  who  seemed  to  be  a  chief,  from 
the  fineness  of  his  garment  and  patoo  patoo,  which  was  made 


i88  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

of  bone  (he  said  of  a  whale).  He  stayed  but  a  short  time, 
and  when  he  went  he  took  with  him  our  three  guests,  much 
to  our,  as  well  as  their,  satisfaction. 

In  sailing  along  shore,  we  could  clearly  see  several 
cultivated  spots  of  land,  some  freshly  turned  up,  and  lying 
in  furrows,  as  if  ploughed;  others  with  plants  growing 
upon  them,  some  younger  and  some  older.  We  also  saw  in 
two  places  high  rails  upon  the  ridges  of  hills,  but  could  only 
guess  that  they  are  a  part  of  some  superstition,  as  they  were 
in  lines  not  inclosing  anything. 

1 5th.  Snow  was  still  to  be  seen  upon  the  mountains  inland. 
In  the  morning  we  were  abreast  of  the  southernmost  cape  of 
a  large  bay,  the  northernmost  of  which  was  named  Portland 
Isle.  The  bay  itself  was  called  Hawke's  Bay.  The  southern 
point  was  called  Cape  Kidnappers,  on  account  of  an  attempt 
made  by  the  natives  to  steal  Tayeto,  Tupia's  boy.  He  was 
employed  in  handing  up  the  articles  which  the  natives  were 
selling,  when  one  of  the  men  in  a  canoe  seized  him  and 
pushed  off.  A  shot  was  fired  into  the  canoe,  whereupon 
they  loosed  the  boy,  who  immediately  leaped  into  the  water 
and  swam  to  the  ship.  When  he  had  a  little  recovered  from 
his  fright,  Tayeto  brought  a  fish  to  Tupia,  and  told  him  that 
he  intended  it  as  an  offering  to  his  eatua,  in  gratitude  for 
his  escape.  Tupia  approved  it,  and  ordered  him  to  throw  it 
in  the  water,  which  he  did. 

16th.  Mountains  covered  with  snow  were  in  sight  again 
this  morning,  so  that  a  chain  of  them  probably  runs  within 
the  country.  Vast  shoals  of  fish  were  about  the  ship, 
pursued  by  large  flocks  of  brownish  birds  a  little  bigger 
than  a  pigeon  (Nectris  munda).  Their  method  of  fishing 
was  amusing  enough :  a  whole  flock  of  birds  would  follow 
the  fish,  which  swam  fast;  they  continually  plunged  under 
water,  and  soon  after  rose  again  in  another  place,  so  that  the 
whole  flock  sometimes  vanished  altogether,  and  rose  again, 
often  where  you  did  not  expect  them ;  in  less  than  a 
minute's  time  they  were  down  again,  and  so  alternately  as 
long  as  we  saw  them.  Before  dinner  we  were  abreast  of 
another  cape,  which  made  in  a  bluff  rock,  the  upper  part  of 


OCT.  1769  HAWKE'S  BAY  !89 

a  reddish-coloured  stone  or  clay,  the  lower  white.  Beyond 
this  the  country  appeared  pleasant,  with  low  smooth  hills 
like  downs.  The  captain  thought  it  not  necessary  to 
proceed  any  farther  on  this  side  of  the  coast,  so  the  ship's 
head  was  turned  to  the  northward,  and  the  cape  thence 
called  Cape  Turnagain.  At  night  we  were  off  Hawke's  Bay 
and  saw  two  monstrous  fires  inland  on  the  hills.  We  are 
now  inclined  to  think  that  these,  and  most  if  not  all  the 
great  fires  that  we  have  seen,  are  made  for  the  convenience 
of  clearing  the  land  for  tillage,  but  for  whatever  purpose 
they  are  a  certain  indication  that  where  they  are  the  country 
is  inhabited. 

20th.  Several  canoes  followed  us,  and  seemed  very 
peaceably  inclined,  inviting  us  to  go  into  a  bay  they  pointed 
out,  where  they  said  was  plenty  of  fresh  water.  We  followed 
them  in,  and  by  eleven  came  to  an  anchor.  We  then 
invited  two,  who  seemed  by  their  dress  to  be  chiefs,  to  come 
on  board ;  they  immediately  accepted  our  invitation.  In  the 
meantime  those  who  remained  in  the  canoes  traded  with  our 
people  very  fairly  for  whatever  they  had  in  their  boats.  The 
chiefs,  who  were  two  old  men,  the  one  dressed  in  a  jacket 
ornamented  after  their  fashion  with  dog  skin,  the  other  in 
one  covered  almost  entirely  with  some  tufts  of  red  feathers, 
received  our  presents,  and  stayed  with  us  till  we  had  dined. 

21st.  At  daybreak  the  waterers  went  ashore,  and  soon 
after  Dr.  Solander  and  myself  did  the  same.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  surf  upon  the  beach,  but  we  landed  without 
much  difficulty.  The  natives  sat  by  our  people,  but  did  not 
intermix  with  them.  They  traded,  however,  for  cloth  chiefly, 
giving  whatever  they  had,  though  they  seemed  pleased  with 
observing  our  people,  as  well  as  with  the  gain  they  got  by 
trading  with  them ;  yet  they  did  not  neglect  their  ordinary 
occupations.  In  the  morning  several  of  their  boats  went 
out  fishing,  and  at  dinner-time  all  went  to  their  respective 
homes,  returning  after  a  certain  time.  Such  fair  appearances 
made  Dr.  Solander  and  myself  almost  trust  them  ;  we  ranged 
all  about  the  bay  and  were  well  repaid  by  finding  many 
plants,  and  shooting  some  most  beautiful  birds.  In  doing 


190  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

this  we  visited  several  houses,  and  saw  a  little  of  their 
customs,  for  they  were  not  at  all  shy  of  showing  us  anything 
we  desired  to  see,  nor  did  they  on  our  account  interrupt  their 
meals,  the  only  employment  we  saw  them  engaged  in. 

Their  food  at  this  time  of  the  year  consisted  of  fish,  with 
which,  instead  of  bread,  they  eat  the  roots  of  a  kind  of  fern, 
Pteris  crenulata,1  very  like  that  which  grows  upon  our 
commons  in  England.  These  were  slightly  roasted  on  the 
fire  and  then  beaten  with  a  stick,  which  took  off  the  bark 
and  dry  outside ;  what  remained  had  a  sweetish,  clammy, 
but  not  disagreeable  taste.  It  might  be  esteemed  a  tolerable 
food,  were  it  not  for  the  quantity  of  strings  and  fibres  in  it, 
which  in  quantity  three  or  four  times  exceed  the  soft  part. 
These  were  swallowed  by  some,  but  the  greater  number  spit 
them  out,  for  which  purpose  they  had  a  basket  standing 
under  them  to  receive  their  chewed  morsels,  in  shape  and 
colour  not  unlike  chaws  of  tobacco.  Though  at  this  time  of 
the  year  this  most  homely  fare  was  their  principal  diet,  yet 
in  the  proper  seasons  they  certainly  have  plenty  of  excellent 
vegetables.  We  have  seen  no  sign  of  tame  animals  among 
them,  except  very  small  and  ugly  dogs.  Their  plantations 
were  now  hardly  finished,  but  so  well  was  the  ground  tilled 
that  I  have  seldom  seen  land  better  broken  up.  In  them 
were  planted  sweet  potatoes,  cocos,  and  a  plant  of  the 
cucumber  kind,  as  we  judged  from  the  seed  leaves  which 
just  appeared  above  ground. 

The  first  of  these  were  planted  in  small  hills,  some  in 
rows,  others  in  quincunx,  all  laid  most  regularly  in  line. 
The  cocos  were  planted  on  flat  land,  and  had  not  yet 
appeared  above  ground.  The  cucumbers  were  set  in  small 
hollows  or  ditches,  much  as  in  England.  These  plantations 
varied  in  size  from  1  to  10  acres  each.  In  the  bay  there 
might  be  150  or  200  acres  in  cultivation,  though  we  did 
not  see  100  people  in  all.  Each  distinct  patch  was  fenced 
in,  generally  with  reeds  placed  close  one  by  another,  so  that 
a  mouse  could  scarcely  creep  through. 

When  we  went  to  their  houses,  men,  women  and  children 

1  The  same  plant  as  the  British  bracken,  Pteris  aquilina. 


OCT.  1769  NATIVE  CUSTOMS  191 

received  us ;  no  one  showed  the  least  signs  of  fear.  The 
women  were  plain,  and  made  themselves  more  so  by  paint- 
ing their  faces  with  red  ochre  and  oil,  which  was  generally 
fresh  and  wet  upon  their  cheeks  and  foreheads,  easily  trans- 
ferable to  the  noses  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  to  kiss 
them,  not  that  they  seemed  to  have  any  objection  to  such 
familiarities,  as  the  noses  of  several  of  our  people  evidently 
showed.  But  they  were  as  coquettish  as  any  Europeans 
could  be,  and  the  young  ones  as  skittish  as  unbroken  fillies. 
One  part  of  their  dress  I  cannot  omit  to  mention:  besides 
their  cloth,  each  one  wore  round  the  waist  a  string  made  of 
the  leaves  of  a  highly-perfumed  grass,1  to  which  was  fastened 
a  small  bunch  of  the  leaves  of  some  fragrant  plant.  Though 
the  men  did  not  so  frequently  paint  their  faces,  yet  they 
often  did  so ;  one  especially  I  observed,  whose  whole  body 
and  garments  were  rubbed  over  with  dry  ochre ;  of  this  he 
constantly  kept  a  piece  in  his  hand,  and  generally  rubbed  it 
on  some  part  or  other. 

In  the  evening,  all  the  boats  being  employed  in  carrying 
on  board  water,  we  were  likely  to  be  left  ashore  till  after  dark. 
We  did  not  like  to  lose  so  much  of  our  time  for  sorting  our 
specimens  and  putting  them  in  order,  so  we  applied  to  our 
friends  the  Indians  for  a  passage  in  one  of  their  canoes. 
They  readily  launched  one  for  us ;  but  we,  in  number  eight, 
not  being  used  to  so  ticklish  a  conveyance,  overset  her  in 
the  surf,  and  were  very  well  soused.  Four  of  us  were 
obliged  to  remain,  and  Dr.  Solander,  Tupia,  Tayeto  and 
myself  embarked  again,  and  came  without  accident  to  the 
ship,  well  pleased  with  the  behaviour  of  our  Indian  friends, 
who  would  a  second  time  undertake  to  carry  off  such  clumsy 
fellows. 

24th.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  ashore  botanising,  and 
found  many  new  plants.  The  people  behaved  perfectly 
well,  not  mixing  with  or  at  all  interrupting  our  people  in 
what  they  were  about,  but  on  the  contrary  selling  them 
whatever  they  had  for  Otahite  cloth  and  glass  bottles,  of 
which  they  were  uncommonly  fond. 

1  Hierochloe  redolens,  Br. 


192  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

In  our  walks  we  met  with  many  houses  in  the  valleys 
that  seemed  to  be  quite  deserted.  The  people  lived  on  the 
ridges  of  hills  in  very  slightly-built  houses,  or  rather  sheds. 
For  what  reason  they  have  left  the  valleys  we  can  only 
guess,  maybe  for  air,  but  if  so  they  purchase  that  con- 
venience at  a  dear  rate,  as  all  their  fishing  tackle  and  lobster 
pots,  of  which  they  have  many,  must  be  brought  up  with 
no  small  labour. 

"We  saw  also  an  extraordinary  natural  curiosity.  In  pur- 
suing a  valley  bounded  on  each  side  by  steep  hills,  we 
suddenly  saw  a  most  noble  arch  or  cavern  through  the  face 
of  a  rock  leading  directly  to  the  sea,  so  that  through  it  we 
had  not  only  a  view  of  the  bay  and  hills  on  the  other  side, 
but  an  opportunity  of  imagining  a  ship  or  any  other  grand 
object  opposite  to  it.  It  was  certainly  the  most  magnificent 
surprise  I  have  ever  met  with ;  so  much  is  pure  nature 
superior  to  art  in  these  cases.  I  have  seen  such  places 
made  by  art,  where  from  an  inland  view  you  were  led 
through  an  arch  6  feet  wide,  and  7  feet  high,  to  a  prospect 
of  the  sea ;  but  here  was  an  arch  2  5  yards  in  length, 
9  in  breadth,  and  at  least  15  in  height. 

In  the  evening  we  returned  to  the  watering-place,  in  order 
to  go  on  board  with  our  treasure  of  plants,  birds,  etc.,  but  were 
prevented  by  an  old  man  who  detained  us  some  time  in  show- 
ing us  their  exercises  with  arms,  lances,  and  patoo  patoos.  The 
lance  is  made  of  a  hard  wood,  from  10  to  14  feet  long, 
and  very  sharp  at  the  ends.  A  stick  was  set  up  as  an 
enemy ;  to  this  he  advanced  with  a  most  furious  aspect, 
brandishing  his  lance,  which  he  held  with  great  firmness ; 
after  some  time  he  ran  at  the  stick,  and,  supposing  it  a 
man  run  through  the  body,  immediately  fell  upon  the  upper 
end  of  it,  dealing  it  most  merciless  blows  with  his  patoo 
patoo,  any  one  of  which  would  have  probably  split  most 
skulls.  From  this  I  should  conclude  that  they  give  no 
quarter. 

25th.  Went  ashore  this  morning  and  renewed  our 
search  for  plants,  etc.,  with  great  success.  In  the  mean- 
time Tupia,  who  stayed  with  the  waterers,  had  much  conver- 


OCT.  1769  NEW  ZEALAND  CANOE  193 

sation  with  one  of  their  priests ;  they  seemed  to  agree  very 
well  in  their  notions  of  religion,  only  Tupia  was  much 
more  learned  than  the  other,  and  all  his  discourse  was 
received  with  much  attention.  He  asked  them  in  the  course 
of  his  conversation  many  questions,  among  the  rest  whether 
or  no  they  really  ate  men,  which  he  was  very  loth  to 
believe ;  they  answered  in  the  affirmative,  saying  that  they 
ate  the  bodies  only  of  those  of  their  enemies  who  were  killed 
in  war. 

Among  other  knicknacks,  Dr.  Solander  bought  a  boy's 
top,  which  resembled  those  our  boys  play  with  in  England, 
and  which  they  made  signs  was  to  be  whipped  in  the  same 
manner. 

2Sth.  On  an  island  called  Jubolai  we  saw  the  largest 
canoe  which  we  had  met  with;  her  length  was  68 J  feet, 
her  breadth  5  feet,  and  her  height  3  feet  6  inches.  She 
was  built  with  a  sharp  bottom,  made  in  three  pieces  of 
trunks  of  trees  hollowed  out,  the  middlemost  of  which  was 
much  longer  than  either  of  the  other  two;  their  gunnel 
planks  were  in  one  piece  62  feet  2  inches  in  length,  carved 
prettily  enough  in  bas-relief;  the  head  also  was  richly 
carved  in  their  fashion.  We  saw  also  a  house  larger  than 
any  we  had  seen,  though  not  more  than  3  0  feet  long ;  it 
seemed  as  if  it  had  never  been  finished,  being  full  of  chips ; 
the  woodwork  was  squared  so  evenly  and  smoothly  that  we 
could  not  doubt  of  their  having  very  sharp  tools.  All  the 
side-posts  were  carved  in  a  masterly  style  of  their  whimsical 
taste,  which  seems  confined  to  making  spirals  and  distorted 
human  faces ;  all  these  had  clearly  been  moved  from  some 
other  place,  so  that  such  work  probably  bears  a  value  among 
them. 

While  Mr.  Sporing  was  drawing  on  the  island  he  saw  a 
most  strange  bird  fly  over  his  head.  He  described  it  as 
being  about  as  large  as  a  kite,  and  brown  like  one ;  his  tail, 
however,  was  of  so  enormous  a  length  that  he  at  first  took 
it  for  a  flock  of  small  birds  flying  after  him  :  he  who  is  a 
grave  thinking  man,  and  is  not  at  all  given  to  telling 
wonderful  stories,  says  he  judged  it  to  be  yards  in  length. 

o 


194  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vin 

29th.  Our  water  having  been  got  on  board  the  day 
before  yesterday,  and  nothing  done  yesterday  but  getting  a 
small  quantity  of  wood  and  a  large  supply  of  excellent 
celery,  with  which  this  country  abounds,  we  this  morning 
sailed. 

30th.  Before  noon  we  passed  by  a  cape  which  the 
captain  judged  to  be  the  easternmost  point  of  the  country, 
and  therefore  called  it  East  Cape,  at  least  till  another  is 
found  which  better  deserves  that  name. 

1st  November.  Just  at  nightfall  we  were  under  a  small 
island,  from  whence  came  off  a  large  double  canoe,  or  rather 
two  canoes  lashed  together  at  a  distance  of  about  a  foot, 
and  covered  with  boards  so  as  to  make  a  kind  of  deck. 
She  came  pretty  near  the  ship,  and  the  people  in  her  talked 
with  Tupia  with  much  seeming  friendship  ;  but  when  it 
was  just  dark  they  ran  the  canoe  close  to  the  ship  and 
threw  in  three  or  four  stones,  after  which  they  paddled 
ashore. 

2nd.  Passed  this  morning  between  an  island  and  the 
main,  which  appeared  low  and  sandy,  with  a  remarkable  hill 
inland :  flat  and  smooth  as  a  molehill,  though  very  high  and 
large.  Many  canoes  and  people  were  seen  along  shore. 
Some  followed  us,  but  could  not  overtake  us.  A  sailing 
canoe  that  had  chased  us  ever  since  daybreak  then  came  up 
with  us,  and  proved  the  same  double  canoe  which  had 
pelted  us  last  night,  so  that  we  prepared  for  another  volley 
of  their  ammunition,  dangerous  to  nothing  on  board  but  our 
windows.  The  event  proved  as  we  expected,  for  after  having 
sailed  with  us  an  hour  they  threw  their  stones  again.  A 
musket  was  fired  over  them  and  they  dropped  astern,  not,  I 
believe,  at  all  frightened  by  the  musket,  but  content  with 
having  showed  their  courage  by  twice  insulting  us.  We 
now  begin  to  know  these  people,  and  are  much  less  afraid 
of  any  daring  attempt  from  them  than  we  were. 

The  country  appeared  low,  with  small  cliffs  near  the 
shore,  but  seemingly  very  fertile  inland ;  we  saw  plainly 
with  our  glasses  villages  larger  than  any  we  had  before 
seen,  situated  on  the  tops  of  cliffs  in  places  almost  in- 


NOV.  1769  COAST  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 


195 


accessible,  besides  which  they  were  guarded  by  a  deep 
fosse  and  a  high  paling  within  it,  so  that  probably  these 
people  are  much  given  to  war.  In  the  evening  many  towns 
were  in  sight,  larger  than  those  seen  at  noon,  and  always 
situated  like  them  on  the  tops  of  cliffs  and  fenced  in  the 
same  manner :  under  them,  upon  the  beach,  were  many  very 
large  canoes,  some  hundreds  I  may  safely  say,  some  of 
which  either  had  or  appeared  to  have  awnings,  but  not  one 
of  them  put  off.  From  all  these  circumstances  we  judged 
the  country  to  be  much  better  peopled  hereabouts,  and 
inhabited  by  richer  people  than  we  had  before  seen ;  maybe 
it  was  the  residence  of  some  of  their  princes.  As  far  as  we 
have  yet  gone  along  the  coast  from  Cape  Turnagain  to  this 
place,  the  people  have  acknowledged  only  one  chief,  Teratu. 
If  his  dominion  is  really  so  large,  he  may  have  princes  or 
governors  under  him  capable  of  drawing  together  a  vast 
number  of  people,  for  he  himself  is  always  said  to  live  far 
inland. 

3rd.  The  continent  appeared  this  morning  barren  and 
rocky,  but  many  islands  were  in  sight,  chiefly  with  such 
towns  upon  them  as  we  saw  yesterday.  Two  canoes  put 
off  from  one,  but  could  not  overtake  us.  At  breakfast  a 
cluster  of  islands  and  rocks  was  in  sight,  which  made  an 
uncommon  appearance  from  the  number  of  perpendicular 
rocks  or  needles  (as  the  seamen  call  them)  which  were  in 
sight  at  once.  These  we  called  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  in 
respect  to  that  worthy  body,  and  entertained  ourselves  some 
time  with  giving  names  to  each  of  them  from  their  resemb- 
lance, thick  and  squab  or  lank  and  tall,  to  some  one  or 
other  of  those  respectable  citizens.  Soon  after  this  we 
passed  an  island,  on  which  were  houses  built  on  the  steep 
sides  of  rocks,  inaccessible,  I  had  almost  said,  to  birds.  How 
their  inhabitants  could  ever  have  got  to  them  surpassed  my 
comprehension.  At  present,  however,  we  saw  none,  so  that 
these  situations  are  probably  no  more  than  places  to  retire 
to  in  case  of  danger,  which  are  totally  evacuated  in  peace- 
able times. 

5th.  Two  Indians  were  seen  fighting  about  some  quarrel 


196  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

of  their  own  ;  they  began  with  lances,  which  were  soon  taken 
from  them  by  an  old  man,  apparently  a  chief,  but  they  were 
allowed  to  continue  their  battle,  which  they  did  like 
Englishmen  with  their  fists  for  some  time,  after  which  all 
of  them  retired  behind  a  little  hill,  so  that  our  people  did 
not  see  the  event  of  the  combat. 

6th.  The  Indians,  as  yesterday,  were  tame.  Their 
habitations  were  certainly  at  a  distance,  as  they  had  no 
houses,  but  slept  under  the  bushes.  The  bay  where  we  now 
are  may  be  a  place  to  which  parties  of  them  often  resort  for 
the  sake  of  shell-fish,  which  are  here  very  plentiful ;  indeed, 
wherever  we  went,  on  hills  or  in  valleys,  in  woods  or  plains, 
we  continually  met  with  vast  heaps  of  shells,  often  many 
waggon-loads  together,  some  appearing  to  be  very  old. 
Wherever  these  were  it  is  more  than  probable  that  parties  of 
Indians  had  at  some  time  or  other  taken  up  their  residence, 
as  our  Indians  had  made  such  a  pile  about  them.  The 
country  in  general  was  very  barren,  but  the  tops  of  the  hills 
were  covered  with  a  very  large  fern,  the  roots  of  which  they 
had  got  together  in  large  quantities,  as  they  said,  to  carry 
away  with  them.  We  did  not  see  any  kind  of  cultivation. 

8th.  We  botanised  with  our  usual  good  success,  which 
could  not  be  doubted  in  a  country  so  totally  new.  In  the 
evening  we  went  to  our  friends  the  Indians  that  we  might 
see  the  method  in  which  they  slept :  it  was,  as  they  had 
told  us,  on  the  bare  ground,  without  more  shelter  than  a 
few  trees  over  their  heads.  The  women  and  children  were 
placed  innermost,  or  farthest  from  the  sea  ;  the  men  lay  in  a 
kind  of  semicircle  round  them,  and  on  the  trees  close  by 
were  ranged  their  arms,  in  order,  so  no  doubt  they  were 
afraid  of  an  attack  from  some  enemy  not  far  off.  They  do 
not  acknowledge  any  superior  king,  as  did  all  those  whom 
we  had  before  seen,  so  possibly  these  are  a  set  of  outlaws 
from  Teratu's  kingdom.  Their  having  no  cultivation  or 
houses  makes  it  clear  at  least  either  that  it  is  so  or  that  this 
is  not  their  real  habitation ;  they  say,  however,  that  they 
have  houses  and  a  fort  somewhere  at  a  distance,  but  do  not 
say  that  even  there  there  is  any  cultivation. 


NOV.  1769  MERCURY  BAY  197 

9th.  At  daybreak  this  morning  a  vast  number  of  boats 
came  on  board,  almost  loaded  with  mackerel  of  two  sorts, 
one  exactly  the  same  as  is  caught  in  England.  "We  concluded 
that  they  had  caught  a  large  shoal  and  sold  us  the  surplus, 
as  they  set  very  little  value  upon  them.  It  was,  however, 
a  fortunate  circumstance  for  us,  as  we  soon  had  more  fish 
on  board  than  all  hands  could  eat  in  two  or  three  days, 
and  before  night  so  many  that  every  mess  who  could  raise 
any  salt  corned  as  many  as  will  last  them  this  month  or 
more. 

After  an  early  breakfast,  the  astronomer  went  on  shore 
to  observe  the  transit  of  Mercury,  which  he  did  without  the 
smallest  cloud  intervening,  a  fortunate  circumstance,  as 
except  yesterday  and  to-day  we  have  not  had  a  clear  day 
for  some  time. 

10  tli.  This  day  was  employed  in  an  excursion  to  view  a 
large  river  at  the  bottom  of  a  bay.  Its  mouth  proved 
to  be  a  good  harbour,  with  sufficient  water  for  our  ship, 
but  scarcely  enough  for  a  larger.  The  stream  was  in 
many  places  very  wide,  with  large  flats  of  mangroves,  which 
at  high  water  are  covered.  We  went  up  about  a  league, 
where  it  was  still  wider  than  at  the  mouth,  and  divided 
itself  into  innumerable  channels  separated  by  mangrove 
flats,  the  whole  several  miles  in  breadth.  The  water  was 
shoal,  so  we  agreed  to  stop  our  disquisition  here,  and  go 
ashore  to  dine.  A  tree  in  the  neighbourhood,  on  which 
were  many  shags'  nests,  and  old  shags  sitting  by  them, 
confirmed  our  resolution.  An  attack  was  consequently 
made  on  the  shags,  and  about  twenty  were  soon  killed, 
and  as  soon  broiled  and  eaten ;  every  one  declaring  that 
they  were  excellent  food,  as  indeed  I  think  they  were. 
Hunger  is  certainly  most  excellent  sauce  ;  but  since  we 
have  no  fowls  and  ducks  left,  we  find  ourselves  able  to  eat 
any  kind  of  bird  (for  indeed  we  throw  away  none)  without 
even  that  kind  of  seasoning.  Fresh  provision  to  a  seaman 
must  always  be  most  acceptable,  if  he  can  get  over  the 
small  prejudices  which  once  affected  several  in  this  ship, 
most  or  all  of  whom  are  now  by  virtue  of  good  example 


198  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

completely  cured.  Our  repast  ended,  we  proceeded  down 
the  river  again.  At  the  mouth  of  it  was  a  small  Indian 
village,  where  we  landed,  and  were  most  civilly  received 
by  the  inhabitants,  who  treated  us  with  hot  cockles,  or 
at  least  a  small  flat  shell-fish  (Tellina),  which  was  most 
delicious  food. 

lltk.  An  oyster  bank  was  found  in  the  river,  about  half 
a  mile  up,  just  above  a  small  island  which  is  covered  at  high 
water ;  here  the  long-boat  was  sent  and  soon  returned 
deeply  loaded  with  as  good  oysters  as  ever  came  from  Col- 
chester, and  of  about  the  same  size.  They  were  laid  down 
under  the  booms,  and  employed  the  ship's  company  very 
well,  who,  I  sincerely  believe,  did  nothing  but  eat  from  the 
time  they  came  on  board  till  night,  by  which  time  a  large 
part  were  expended.  But  this  gave  us  no  kind  of  uneasi- 
ness, since  we  well  knew  that  not  the  boat  only  but  the 
ship  might  be  loaded  in  one  tide  almost,  as  they  are  dry 
at  half  ebb. 

12th.  We  all  went  ashore  to  see  an  Indian  fort,  or  heppah, 
in  the  neighbourhood,  uncertain,  however,  what  kind  of  a  re- 
ception we  should  meet  with,  as  they  might  be  jealous  about 
letting  us  into  a  place  where  all  their  valuable  effects  were 
probably  lodged.  We  went  to  a  bay  where  were  two  heppahs, 
and  landed  first  near  a  small  one,  the  most  beautiful  romantic 
thing  I  ever  saw.  It  was  built  on  a  small  rock  detached 
from  the  main,  and  surrounded  at  high  water ;  the  top  of 
this  was  fenced  round  with  rails  after  their  manner,  but  was 
not  large  enough  to  contain  above  five  or  six  houses ;  the 
whole  appeared  totally  inaccessible  to  any  animal  who  was 
not  furnished  with  wings,  indeed,  it  was  only  approachable 
by  one  very  narrow  and  steep  path,  but  what  made  it  most 
truly  romantic  was  that  much  the  greater  part  of  it  was 
hollowed  out  into  an  arch,  which  penetrated  quite  through 
it,  the  top  being  not  less  than  twenty  perpendicular  yards 
above  the  water,  which  ran  through  it. 

The  inhabitants  on  our  approach  came  down,  and  invited 
us  to  go  in ;  but  we  refused,  intending  to  visit  a  much  larger 
and  more  perfect  one  about  a  mile  off:  we  spent,  however, 


NOV.  1769  DESCRIPTION  OF  A  HEPPAH  199 

some  little  time  in  making  presents  to  their  women.  In 
the  meanwhile  we  saw  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  come 
down  from  it,  men,  women  and  children,  about  one  hundred 
in  number,  and  march  towards  us ;  as  soon  as  they  came 
near  enough  they  waved,  and  called  haromai,  and  sat  down 
in  the  bushes  near  the  beach  (a  sure  mark  of  their  good 
intentions). 

We  went  to  them,  made  a  few  presents,  and  asked  leave 
to  go  up  to  their  heppah,  which  they  with  joy  invited  us  to 
do,  and  immediately  accompanied  us  to  it.  It  was  called 
Wharretoueva,  and  was  situated  at  the  end  of  a  hill  where 
it  jutted  out  into  the  sea,  which  washed  its  two  sides  :  these 
were  sufficiently  steep,  but  not  absolutely  inaccessible.  Up 
one  of  the  land  sides,  which  was  also  steep,  went  the  road ; 
the  other  side  was  flat  and  open.  The  whole  was  enclosed 
by  a  palisade  about  ten  feet  high,  made  of  strong  poles 
bound  together  with  withies :  the  weak  side  next  the  hill 
had  also  a  ditch,  twenty  feet  in  depth  nearest  the  palisade. 
Besides  this,  beyond  the  palisade  was  built  a  fighting  stage, 
which  they  call  pordva.  It  is  a  flat  stage  covered  with 
branches  of  trees  upon  which  they  stand  to  throw  darts  or 
stones  at  their  assailants,  they  themselves  being  out  of 
danger.  Its  dimensions  were  as  follows :  its  height  above 
the  ground  20 J  feet,  breadth  6  feet  6  inches,  length  43  feet ; 
upon  it  were  laid  bundles  of  darts,  and  heaps  of  stones,  ready 
in  case  of  an  attack.  One  of  the  young  men  at  our  desire 
went  up  to  show  their  method  of  fighting,  and  another  went 
to  the  outside  of  the  ditch  to  act  as  assailant ;  they  both 
sang  their  war-song,  and  danced  with  the  same  frightful 
gesticulations  as  we  have  often  seen,  threatening  each  other 
with  their  weapons.  This,  I  suppose,  they  do  in  their  attacks, 
to  work  themselves  into  a  sufficient  fury  of  courage,  for 
what  we  call  calm  resolution  is,  I  believe,  found  in  few  un- 
civilised people.  The  side  next  the  road  was  also  defended 
by  a  similar  stage,  but  much  longer ;  the  other  two  were  by 
their  steepness  thought  to  be  sufficiently  secure  with  the 
palisade.  The  inside  was  divided  into,  I  believe,  twenty 
larger  and  smaller  divisions,  some  of  which  contained  not 


200  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vm 

more  than  one  or  two  houses,  others  twelve  or  fourteen. 
Every  one  of  these  was  enclosed  by  its  own  palisade,  though 
not  so  high  and  strong  as  the  general  one ;  in  these  were 
vast  heaps  of  dried  fish  and  fern  roots  piled  up,  so  much  so 
that  if  they  had  had  water,  I  should  have  thought  them 
well  prepared  for  a  siege,  but  that  had  to  be  fetched  from 
a  brook  below ;  so  that  they  probably  do  not  besiege  a  town 
as  we  do  in  Europe.  Without  the  fence  were  many  houses 
and  large  nets,  the  latter,  I  suppose,  being  brought  in  upon 
any  alarm ;  there  was  also  about  half  an  acre  planted  with 
gourds  and  sweet  potatoes,  the  only  cultivation  we  have 
seen  in  this  bay. 

~L4Jh.  As  we  were  resolved  to  stay  no  longer  here,  we  all 
went  ashore,  the  boats  to  get  as  much  celery  and  oysters  as 
possible,  Dr.  Solander  and  myself  to  get  as  many  green  plants 
as  possible,  in  order  to  finish  the  sketches,  etc.,  while  at  sea; 
so  an  enormous  number  of  all  these  articles  came  on  board. 

Dr.  Solander,  who  was  to-day  in  a  cove  different  from 
that  I  was  in,  saw  the  natives  catch  many  lobsters  in  a  very 
simple  manner ;  they  walked  among  the  rocks  at  low  water, 
about  waist-deep  in  water,  and  moved  their  feet  about  till 
they  felt  one,  on  which  they  dived  down,  and  constantly 
brought  him  up.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  have  before 
mentioned  these  lobsters,  but  we  have  had  them  in  tolerable 
plenty  in  almost  every  place  we  have  been  in,  and  they  are 
certainly  the  largest  and  best  I  have  ever  eaten. 

20th.  We  had  yesterday  resolved  to  employ  this  day  in 
examining  a  bay  we  saw,  so  at  daybreak  we  set  out  in  the 
boats.  A  fresh  breeze  of  wind  soon  carried  us  to  the 
bottom  of  the  bay,  where  we  found  a  very  fine  river,  broad 
as  the  Thames  at  Greenwich,  though  not  quite  so  deep ; 
there  was,  however,  water  enough  for  vessels  of  more  than  a 
middling  size,  and  a  bottom  of  mud  so  soft  that  nothing 
could  possibly  take  damage  by  running  ashore. 

About  a  mile  up  this  was  an  Indian  town  built  upon  a 
small  bank  of  dry  sand,  but  totally  surrounded  by  deep  mud, 
so  much  so  that  I  believe  they  had  purposely  built  it  there 
as  a  defence.  The  people  came  out  in  flocks  upon  the  banks, 


NOV.  1769  THAMES  RIVER— TIMBER  201 

inviting  us  in ;  they  had  heard  of  us  from  our  last  friends. 
We  landed,  and  while  we  stayed  they  were  most  perfectly 
civil,  as  indeed  they  have  always  been  where  we  were 
known,  but  never  where  we  were  not.  We  proceeded  up 
the  river  and  soon  met  with  another  town  with  but  few 
inhabitants.  Above  this  the  banks  were  completely  clothed 
with  the  finest  timber l  my  eyes  ever  beheld,  of  a  tree  we  had 
before  seen,  but  only  at  a  distance,  in  Poverty  Bay  and 
Hawke's  Bay.  Thick  'woods  of  it  were  everywhere  upon  the 
banks,  every  tree  as  straight  as  a  pine,  and  of  immense  size, 
and  the  higher  we  went  the  more  numerous  they  were. 
About  two  leagues  from  the  mouth  we  stopped  and  went 
ashore.  Our  first  business  was  to  measure  one  of  these  trees. 
The  woods  were  swampy,  so  we  could  not  range  far ;  we 
found  one,  however,  by  no  means  the  largest  we  had  seen, 
which  was  19  feet  8  inches2  in  circumference,  and  89 
feet  in  height  without  a  branch.  But  what  was  most  re- 
markable was  that  it,  as  well  as  many  more  that  we  saw, 
carried  its  thickness  so  truly  up  to  the  very  top,  that  I  dare 
venture  to  affirm  that  the  top,  where  the  lowest  branch  took 
its  rise,  was  not  a  foot  less  in  diameter  than  where  we 
measured  it,  which  was  about  8  feet  from  the  ground.  We 
cut  down  a  young  one  of  these  trees  ;  the  wood  proved  heavy 
and  solid,  too  much  so  for  masts,  but  it  would  make  the 
finest  plank  in  the  world,  and  might  possibly  by  some  art 
be  made  light  enough  for  masts,  as  the  pitch-pine  in  America 
(to  which  our  carpenter  likened  this  timber)  is  said  to  be 
lightened  by  tapping. 

Up  to  this  point  the  river  has  kept  its  depth  and  very 
little  decreased  in  breadth ;  the  captain  was  so  much  pleased 
with  it  that  he  resolved  to  call  it  the  Thames.  It  was  now 
time  for  us  to  return ;  the  tide  turning  downwards  gave  us 
warning,  so  away  we  went,  and  got  out  of  the  river  into  the 
bay  before  it  was  dark.  We  rowed  for  the  ship  as  fast  as  we 

1  Podocarpus  dacrydioides,  A.  Cunn. 

2  The  dimensions  were  left  blank  in  Banks's  Journal.    In  Wharton's  Cook,  p. 
159,  it  is  stated  to  be  19  feet  8  inches  at  6  feet  above  the  ground,  and  its 
length  from  the  root  to  the  first  branch  89  feet ;  and  it  tapered  so  little  that 
Cook  judged  it  to  contain  356  feet  of  solid  timber,  clear  of  the  branches. 


202  NEW  ZEALAND  CHAP,  vin 

could,  but  night  overtook  us  before  we  could  get  within 
some  miles  of  her.  It  blew  fresh  with  showers  of  rain. 
In  this  situation  we  rowed  until  nearly  twelve,  and  then 
gave  over,  and  running  under  the  land  came  to  a  grappling, 
and  all  went  to  sleep  as  well  as  we  could. 

21st.  Before  daybreak  we  set  out  again.  It  still  blew 
fresh  with  mizzling  rain  and  fog,  so  that  it  was  an  hour 
after  day  before  we  got  a  sight  of  the  ship.  However, 
we  made  shift  to  get  on  board  by  seven,  tired  enough  ; 
and  lucky  for  us  it  was  we  did,  for  before  nine  it  blew  a 
fresh  gale,  so  that  our  boat  could  not  have  rowed  ahead, 
and,  had  we  been  out,  we  must  have  either  gone  ashore  or 
sheltered  ourselves.  Before  evening,  however,  it  moderated, 
so  that  we  got  under  way  with  the  ebb,  but  did  little  or 
nothing. 


CHAPTEE    IX 

CIRCUMNAVIGATION    OF   NEW    ZEALAND 
Nov.  22,  1769—  MARCH  30,  1770 

Tattowing  —  Thieving  of  the  natives  —  Cannibalism  —  Rapid  healing  of  shot- 
wounds  —  Native  seines  —  Paper  mulberry  —  Native  accounts  of  their 
ancestors'  expedition  to  other  countries  —  Three  Kings  Islands  —  Christmas 
Day  —  Albatross  swimming  —  Mount  Egmont  —  Murderers'  Bay  —  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound  —  Threats  of  natives  —  Corpses  thrown  into  the  sea  — 
Cannibalism  —  Singing-birds  —  Fishing-nets  —  Human  head  preserved  — 
Discovery  of  Cook's  Straits  —  Native  names  for  New  Zealand,  and  tradi- 
tions —  Courteous  native  family  —  Leave  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound—  Tides 

—  Cape  Turnagain—  Coast  along  the  southern  island  —  Banks'  Peninsula 

—  Appearance  of  minerals  —  Mountains  along  the  west  coast  —  Anchor  in 
Admiralty  Bay. 


.  Two  large  canoes  came  from  a  distance;  the  people 
in  them  were  numerous  and  appeared  rich  ;  the  canoes  were 
well  carved  and  ornamented,  and  they  had  with  them  many 
patoo-patoos  of  stone  and  whale-bone  which  they  value  very 
much.  They  had  also  ribs  of  whales,  of  which  we  had  often 
seen  imitations  in  wood  carved  and  ornamented  with  tufts 
of  dog's  hair.  The  people  themselves  were  browner  than 
those  to  the  southward,  as  indeed  they  have  been  ever  since 
we  came  to  Opoorage,  as  this  part  is  called,  and  they  had  a 
much  larger  quantity  of  amoca  or  black  stains  upon  their 
bodies  and  faces.  They  had  almost  universally  a  broad 
spiral  on  each  buttock,  and  many  had  their  thighs  almost 
entirely  black,  small  lines  only  being  left  untouched,  so  that 
they  looked  like  striped  breeches.  In  this  particular,  I 
mean  the  use  of  amoca,  almost  every  tribe  seems  to  have  a 
different  custom  ;  we  have  on  some  days  seen  canoes  where 


204         CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND       CH.  ix 

every  man  was  almost  covered  with  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
others  where  scarcely  a  man  had  a  spot,  except  on  his  lips, 
which  seems  to  be  always  essential. 

These  people  would  not  part  with  any  of  their  arms,  etc., 
for  any  price  we  could  offer.  At  last,  however,  one  produced 
an  axe  of  talc  and  offered  it  for  cloth ;  it  was  given,  and  the 
canoe  immediately  put  off  with  it ;  a  musket  ball  was  fired 
over  their  heads,  on  which  they  immediately  came  back  and 
returned  the  cloth,  but  soon  after  put  off  and  went  ashore. 

In  the  afternoon  other  canoes  came  off,  and  through  some 
inattention  of  the  officers  were  suffered  to  cheat,  unpunished 
and  unfrightened ;  this  put  one  of  the  midshipmen  who  had 
suffered  upon  a  droll,  though  rather  mischievous,  revenge. 
He  got  a  fishing-line,  and  when  the  canoe  was  close  to  the 
ship  hove  the  lead  at  the  man  who  had  cheated  him  with 
such  good  success  that  he  fastened  the  hook  into  his  back, 
on  which  he  pulled  with  all  his  might ;  the  Indian  kept 
back,  so  that  the  hook  soon  broke  in  the  shank,  leaving  its 
beard  in  the  man,  no  very  agreeable  legacy. 

30th.  Several  canoes  came  off  to  the  ship  very  early,  but 
sold  little  or  nothing ;  indeed,  no  merchandise  that  we  can 
show  them  seems  to  take  with  them.  Our  island  cloth, 
which  used  to  be  so  much  esteemed,  has  now  entirely  lost 
its  value.  The  natives  have  for  some  days  past  told  us 
that  they  have  some  of  it  ashore,  and  showed  us  small 
pieces  in  their  ears,  which  they  said  was  of  their  own 
manufacture.  This  accounts  for  their  having  been  once  so 
fond  of  it,  and  now  setting  so  little  value  upon  it.  Towards 
noon,  however,  they  sold  us  a  little  dried  fish  for  paper, 
chiefly,  or  very  white  Indian  cloth. 

In  the  evening  we  went  ashore  upon  the  continent. 
The  people  received  us  very  civilly,  and  were  as  tame  as  we 
could  wish.  One  general  observation  I  here  set  down :  they 
always,  after  one  night's  consideration,  have  acknowledged 
our  superiority,  but  hardly  ever  before.  I  have  often  seen 
a  man,  when  his  nearest  companion  was  wounded  or  killed 
by  our  shot,  not  give  himself  the  trouble  to  inquire  how  or 
by  what  means  he  was  hurt.  When  they  attack  they  work 


DEC.  1769  CANNIBALISM  205 

themselves  up  into  a  kind  of  artificial  courage,  which  does 
not  allow  them  time  to  think  much. 

1st  December.  It  is  now  some  time  since  I  mentioned  their 
custom  of  eating  human  flesh,  as  I  had  been  for  a  long  time 
loth  to  believe  that  any  human  beings  could  have  among  them 
so  brutal  a  custom.  I  am  now,  however,  convinced,  and  shall 
here  give  a  short  account  of  what  we  have  heard  from  the 
Indians  concerning  it. 

At  Taoneroa,  where  we  first  landed,  the  boys  whom  we 
had  on  board  mentioned  it  of  their  own  accord,  asking 
whether  the  meat  they  ate  was  not  human  flesh,  as  they 
had  no  idea  of  any  animal  so  large,  except  a  man,  till  they 
saw  our  sheep.  They,  however,  seemed  ashamed  of  the 
custom,  saying  that  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged  did 
not  use  it,  but  that  another  living  very  near  them  did.  Since 
then  we  have  never  failed  to  ask  the  question,  and  we  have 
without  one  exception  been  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
Several  times,  as  at  Tolago  and  here,  the  people  have  put 
themselves  into  a  heat  by  defending  the  custom,  which 
Tupia,  who  had  never  before  heard  of  such  a  thing,  takes 
every  occasion  to  speak  ill  of,  exhorting  them  often  to 
leave  it  off.  They,  however,  universally  agree  that  they  eat 
none  but  the  bodies  of  those  of  their  enemies  who  are 
killed  in  war ;  all  others  are  buried. 

3rd.  Many  canoes  visited  us  in  the  morning;  one  very 
large  carrying  eighty-two  people.  Dr.  Solander  and  myself 
went  ashore  ;  we  found  few  plants,  and  saw  but  few  people, 
but  they  were  perfectly  civil.  We  went  on  their  invitation 
to  their  little  town,  which  was  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a 
cove,  without  the  least  defence.  One  of  the  old  men  here 
showed  us  the  instrument  with  which  they  stain  their 
bodies;  it  was  exactly  like  that  used  at  Otahite.  We 
saw  also  here  a  man  who  had  been  shot  on  the  29th  while 
attempting  to  steal  our  buoy.  The  ball  had  gone  through 
the  fleshy  part  of  his  arm  and  grazed  his  breast.  The  wound 
was  open  to  the  air,  without  the  smallest  application  upon 
it,  yet  it  had  as  good  an  appearance,  and  seemed  to  give 
him  as  little  pain  as  if  it  had  had  the  very  best  dressing 


206          CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND       CH.  ix 

possible.  We  gave  him  a  musket  ball,  and  with  a  little 
talking  he  seemed  to  be  fully  sensible  of  the  escape  he 
had  had. 

In  the  evening  we  went  ashore  on  another  island  where 
were  many  more  people,  who  lived  in  the  same  peaceable 
style,  and  had  very  large  plantations  of  sweet  potatoes,  yams, 
etc.,  about  their  village.  They  received  us  much  as  our 
friends  in  the  morning  had  done,  and,  like  them,  showed  much 
satisfaction  at  the  little  presents  of  necklaces,  etc.,  which 
were  given  to  them. 

&th.  "We  went  ashore  at  a  large  Indian  fort  or  heppah. 
A  great  number  of  people  immediately  crowded  about  us, 
and  sold  almost  a  boat-load  of  fish  in  a  very  short  time. 
They  then  showed  us  their  plantations,  which  were  very 
large,  of  yams,  cocos,  and  sweet  potatoes :  and  after 
having  a  little  laugh  at  our  seine,  a  common  king's  seine, 
showed  us  one  of  theirs,  which  was  five  fathoms  deep.  Its 
length  we  could  only  guess,  as  it  was  not  stretched  out, 
but  it  could  not  from  its  bulk  be  less  than  four  or  five 
hundred  fathoms.  Fishing  seems  to  be  the  chief  business 
of  this  part  of  the  country.  About  all  their  towns  are 
abundance  of  nets  laid  upon  small  heaps  like  haycocks,  and 
thatched  over,  and  almost  every  house  you  go  into  has  nets 
in  process  of  making. 

After  this  they  showed  us  a  great  rarity,  six  plants  of 
what  they  called  aouta,  from  whence  they  make  cloth  like 
that  of  Otahite.  The  plant  proved  exactly  the  same,  as 
the  name  is  the  same,  Morus  papyrifera,  Linn,  (the  Paper 
Mulberry).  The  same  plant  is  used  by  the  Chinese  to 
make  paper.  Whether  the  climate  does  not  well  agree  with 
it  I  do  not  know,  but  they  seemed  to  value  it  very  much ; 
that  it  was  very  scarce  among  them  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve, as  we  have  not  yet  seen  among  them  pieces  large 
enough  for  any  use,  but  only  bits  sticking  into  the  holes  of 
their  ears. 

Qth.  Many  canoes  came  off,  and  Tupia  inquired  about 
the  country :  they  told  him  that  at  the  distance  of  three 
days'  rowing  in  their  canoes,  at  a  place  called  Moore- 


DEC.  1769     VOYAGE  OF  NATIVES  TO  NORTH-WEST        207 

whennua,  the  land  would  turn  to  the  southward,  and  from 
thence  extend  no  more  to  the  west.  This  place  we  con- 
cluded must  be  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen;  and  finding 
these  people  so  intelligent,  desired  Tupia  to  inquire  if 
they  knew  of  any  countries  besides  this,  or  ever  went  to 
any.  They  said  no,  but  that  their  ancestors  had  told  them  that 
to  the  KW.  by  1ST.  or  KKW.  was  a  large  country  to  which 
some  people  had  sailed  in  a  very  large  canoe,  which  passage 
took  them  a  month.  From  the  expedition  a  part  only 
returned,  who  told  their  countrymen  that  they  had  seen  a 
country  where  the  people  eat  hogs,  for  which  animal  they 
used  the  same  name  (Booah)  as  is  used  in  the  islands. 
"  And  have  you  no  hogs  among  you  ? "  said  Tupia. — "  No." 
— "  And  did  your  ancestors  bring  none  back  with  them  ?  " 
— "  No." — "  You  must  be  a  parcel  of  liars  then,"  said  he, 
"  and  your  story  a  great  lie,  for  your  ancestors  would  never 
have  been  such  fools  as  to  come  back  without  them."  Thus 
much  as  a  specimen  of  Indian  reasoning. 

10th.  This  morning  we  were  near  the  land,  which  was 
quite  barren,  hills  beyond  hills,  and  ridges  even  far  inland 
were  covered  with  white  sand  on  which  no  kind  of  vegetable 
was  to  be  seen.  It  was  conjectured  by  some  that  the  land 
here  might  be  very  narrow,  and  that  the  westerly  wind  blew 
the  sand  right  across  it.  Some  Indian  forts  or  heppahs 
were  seen. 

~L8th.  On  a  rock  pretty  near  us  we  saw  through  our 
glasses  an  Indian  fort,  which  we  all  thought  was  encircled 
with  a  mud  wall ;  if  so,  it  is  the  only  one  of  the  kind  we 
have  seen. 

24:th.  Land  in  sight:  an  island,  or  rather  several  small 
ones,  most  probably  the  Three  Kings,  so  that  it  was  con- 
jectured that  we  had  passed  the  cape,  which  had  so  long 
troubled  us.  From  a  boat  I  killed  several  gannets  or  solan 
geese,  so  like  European  ones  that  they  are  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable from  them.  As  it  was  the  humour  of  the  ship 
to  keep  Christmas  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  it  was  resolved 
to  make  a  goose-pie  for  to-morrow's  dinner. 

25th.  Christmas   Day:    our   goose-pie   was   eaten   with 


208          CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND       CH.  ix 

great  approbation ;  and  in  the  evening  all  hands  were  as 
drunk  as  our  forefathers  used  to  be  upon  like  occasions. 

1st  January  1770. — The  new  year  began  with  more 
moderate  weather  than  the  old  one  ended  with,  but  wind 
as  foul  as  ever :  we  ventured  to  go  a  little  nearer  the 
land,  which  appeared  on  this  side  the  cape  much  as  it  had 
done  on  the  other,  almost  entirely  occupied  by  vast  sands. 
Our  surveyors  suppose  the  cape  to  be  shaped  like  a  shoulder 
of  mutton  with  the  knuckle  placed  inwards,  where  they  say 
that  the  land  cannot  be  above  two  or  three  miles  across, 
and  that  most  probably  in  high  winds  the  sea  washes  quite 
over  the  sands,  which  here  are  low. 

Qth.  Calm  to  day.  Shot  Procellaria  longipes,  P.  velox,  and 
Diomedea  exulans  (the  albatross).  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  this  last  sit  upon  the  water ;  and  as  it  is  commonly 
said  by  seamen  that  they  cannot  in  a  calm  rise  upon  the 
wing,  I  tried  the  experiment.  There  were  two  of  them. 
One  I  shot  dead :  the  other,  which  was  near  it,  swam  off 
nearly  as  fast  as  my  small  boat  could  row.  "We  gave  chase 
and  gained  a  little ;  the  bird  attempted  to  fly  by  trying  to 
take  off  from  a  falling  wave,  but  did  not  succeed :  I  who 
was  so  far  off  that  I  knew  I  could  not  hurt  him,  fired  at 
him  to  make  his  attempts  more  vigorous,  this  had  the 
desired  result,  for  at  the  third  effort  he  got  upon  the  wing, 
though  I  believe  that  had  it  not  been  for  a  little  swell  upon 
the  water  he  could  not  have  done  it. 

10th.  The  country  we  passed  by  appeared  fertile,  more 
so,  I  think,  than  any  part  of  this  country  that  I  have  seen ; 
rising  in  gentle  slopes  not  over  well  wooded,  but  what  trees 
there  were,  were  well  grown.  Few  signs  of  inhabitants 
were  seen :  one  fire  and  a  very  few  houses. 

About  noon  we  passed  between  the  main  and  a  small 
island  or  rock,  which  seemed  almost  totally  covered  with 
birds,  probably  gannets.  Towards  evening  a  very  high  hill 
was  in  sight,  but  very  distant. 

12th.  This  morning  we  were  abreast  of  the  great  hill,1 
but  it  was  wrapped  in  clouds,  and  remained  so  the  whole 

1  Mount  Egmont. 


JAN.  1770  MOUNT  EGMONT  209 

day ;  it  is  probably  very  high,  as  a  part  of  its  side,  which 
was  for  a  moment  seen,  was  covered  with  snow.  The  country 
beyond  it  appeared  very  pleasant  and  fertile,  the  sides  of 
the  hills  sloping  gradually.  With  our  glasses  we  could  dis- 
tinguish many  white  lumps  in  companies,  fifty  or  sixty 
together,  which  were  probably  stones  or  tufts  of  grass,  but 
bore  much  resemblance  to  flocks  of  sheep:1  at  night  a 
small  fire,  which  burned  about  half  an  hour,  made  us  sure 
that  there  were  inhabitants,  of  whom  we  had  seen  no  signs 
since  the  10th. 

1 3th.  This  morning,  soon  after  daybreak,  we  had  a 
momentary  view  of  our  great  hill,  the  top  of  which  was 
thickly  covered  with  snow,  though  this  month  answers  to 
July  in  England.  How  high  it  may  be  I  do  not  take  upon 
me  to  judge,  but  it  is  certainly  the  noblest  hill  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  it  appears  to  the  utmost  advantage,  rising  from 
the  sea  without  another  hill  in  its  neighbourhood  one-fourth 
of  its  height. 

14th.  In  a  large  bay,  called  in  the  draughts  Murderers' 
Bay ;  the  appearance  of  a  harbour  just  ahead  made  us 
resolve  to  anchor  in  the  morning. 

1 5th.  In  the  course  of  last  night  we  were  driven  to  the 
eastward  more  than  we  had  any  reason  to  expect,  so  much 
that  we  found  ourselves  in  the  morning  past  the  harbour  we 
intended  to  go  into.  Another,  however,  was  in  sight,  into 
which  we  went.2  The  land  on  both  sides  appeared  most 
miserably  barren,  till  we  got  some  way  up  the  harbour, 
when  it  began  to  mend  gradually.  Here  we  saw  some 
canoes,  which,  instead  of  coming  towards  us,  went  to  an 
Indian  town  or  fort  built  upon  an  island  nearly  in  the 
middle  of  the  passage,  which  appeared  crowded  with  people, 
as  if  they  had  flocked  to  it  from  all  parts.  As  the  ship 
approached  it  they  waved  to  us  as  if  inviting  us  to  come  to 
them,  but  the  moment  we  had  passed,  they  set  up  a  loud 
shout,  and  every  man  brandished  his  weapons. 

1  Clumps  of  the  remarkable  Composite  plant  Eaoulia  mammillaris,  Hook,  f., 
or  an  allied  species,  called  "vegetable  sheep"  in  New  Zealand. 

2  Ship's  Cove,  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound. 

P 


210  CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND      CH.  ix 

The  country  about  us  now  was  very  fertile  to  appearance, 
and  well  wooded,  so  we  came  to  anchor  about  a  long  cannon 
shot  from  the  fort,  from  whence  four  canoes  were  immediately 
despatched  to  reconnoitre,  I  suppose,  and,  if  might  be,  to 
take  us,  as  they  were  all  well  armed.  The  men  in  these 
boats  were  dressed  much  as  they  are  represented  in  Tasman's 
figure,  that  is,  two  corners  of  the  cloth  they  wore  were 
passed  over  their  shoulders  and  fastened  to  the  rest  of  it 
just  below  their  breasts ;  but  few  or  none  had  feathers  in 
their  hair.  They  rowed  round  and  round  the  ship,  defying 
and  threatening  us  as  usual,  and  at  last  hove  some  stones 
aboard,  which  we  all  expected  to  be  a  prelude  of  some 
behaviour  which  would  oblige  us  to  fire  upon  them;  but 
just  at  this  time  a  very  old  man  in  one  of  the  boats  ex- 
pressed a  desire  of  coming  on  board,  which  we  immediately 
encouraged  him  to  do,  and  threw  a  rope  into  his  canoe,  by 
which  he  was  immediately  hauled  up  alongside,  contrary  to 
the  desire  of  all  the  other  Indians,  who  went  so  far  as  to 
hold  him  fast  for  some  tune.  We  received  him  in  as 
friendly  a  manner  as  possible,  and  gave  him  many  presents, 
with  which  he  returned  to  the  canoes,  who  immediately 
joined  in  a  war  dance,  whether  to  show  their  enmity  or 
friendship  it  is  impossible  to  say.  We  have  so  often  seen 
them  do  it  upon  both  occasions. 

After  this  they  retired  to  their  town,  and  we  went 
ashore  abreast  of  the  ship,  where  we  found  good  wood  and 
water,  and  caught  more  fish  in  the  seine  than  all  our  people 
could  possibly  consume,  besides  shooting  a  multitude  of  shags. 
The  country,  however,  did  not  answer  so  well  to  Dr. 
Solander  and  myself  as  to  the  ship,  as  we  found  only  two 
new  plants  in  the  whole  evening. 

16th.  The  women  and  some  of  the  men  wore  an  article 
of  dress  which  we  had  not  before  seen,  a  round  bunch  of 
black  feathers  tied  upon  the  tops  of  their  heads,  which  it 
entirely  covered,  making  them  look  twice  as  large  as  they 
really  were.  On  seeing  this,  my  judgment  paid  an  involun- 
tary compliment  to  my  fair  English  countrywomen,  for,  led 
astray  by  the  head-dress,  which  in  some  measure  resembles 


JAN.  1770  QUEEN  CHARLOTTE'S  SOUND  211 

the  high  foretops  in  England,  I  was  forward  to  declare  it 
as  my  opinion  that  these  were  much  the  handsomest  women 
we  had  seen  upon  the  coast ;  but  upon  their  near  approach  I 
was  convinced  that  nothing  but  the  head-dress  had  misled 
me,  as  I  saw  not  one  who  was  even  tolerably  handsome. 

After  dinner  we  went  in  the  boat  towards  a  cove  about 
two  miles  from  the  ship.  As  we  rowed  along,  some- 
thing was  seen  floating  upon  the  water,  which  we  took  to  be 
a  dead  seal.  It  proved,  to  our  great  surprise,  to  be  the  body 
of  a  woman,  who  seemed  to  have  been  dead  some  time.  We 
left  it,  and  proceeded  to  our  cove,  where  we  found  a  small 
family  of  Indians,  who  were  a  little  afraid  of  us,  as  they  all 
ran  away  but  one.  They  soon,  however,  returned  except  an 
old  man  and  a  child,  who  stayed  in  the  woods,  but  not  out 
of  sight  of  us.  Of  these  people  we  inquired  about  the  body 
we  had  seen.  They  told  Tupia  that  the  woman  was  a 
relation  of  theirs,  and  that  instead  of  burying  their  dead, 
their  custom  was  to  tie  a  stone  to  them,  and  throw  them 
into  the  sea,  which  stone  they  suppose  to  have  been  un- 
loosened by  some  accident. 

The  family  were  employed,  when  we  came  ashore,  in 
dressing  their  provisions,  which  were  a  dog,  at  that  time 
buried  in  their  oven.  Near  by  were  many  provision  baskets. 
Looking  carelessly  upon  one  of  these,  we  by  accident  observed 
two  bones  pretty  cleanly  picked,  which,  as  appeared  upon 
examination,  were  undoubtedly  human  bones. 

Though  we  had  from  the  beginning  constantly  heard  the 
Indians  acknowledge  the  custom  of  eating  their  enemies,  we 
had  never  before  had  a  proof  of  it,  but  this  amounted  almost 
to  demonstration.  The  bones  were  clearly  human ;  upon 
them  were  evident  marks  of  their  having  been  dressed  on 
the  fire ;  the  meat  was  not  entirely  picked  off  them,  and 
on  the  gristly  ends,  which  were  gnawed,  were  evident  marks 
of  teeth ;  and  they  were  accidentally  found  in  a  provision 
basket.  On  asking  the  people  what  bones  they  were,  they 
answered  :  "  The  bones  of  a  man." — "  And  have  you  eaten 
the  flesh  ?" — "  Yes." — "  Have  you  none  of  it  left  ? " — "  No." 
— "  Why  did  you  not  eat  the  woman  whom  we  saw  to-day  in 


212  CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND      CH.  ix 

the  water?" — "She  was  our  relation." — "Whom,  then,  do 
you  eat  ? " — "  Those  who  are  killed  in  war."  — "  And  who 
was  the  man  whose  bones  these  are?" — "Five  days  ago  a 
boat  of  our  enemies  came  into  this  bay,  and  of  them  we 
killed  seven,  of  whom  the  owner  of  these  bones  was  one." 
The  horror  that  appeared  in  the  countenances  of  the  seamen 
on  hearing  this  discourse,  which  was  immediately  trans- 
lated for  the  good  of  the  company,  is  better  conceived  than 
described.  For  ourselves,  and  myself  in  particular,  we  were 
too  well  convinced  of  the  existence  of  such  a  custom  to  be 
surprised,  though  we  were  pleased  at  having  so  strong  a 
proof  of  a  custom  which  human  nature  holds  in  too  great 
abhorrence  to  give  easy  credit  to. 

Vlih.  I  was  awakened  by  the  singing  of  the  birds  ashore, 
from  whence  we  are  distant  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Their 
numbers  were  certainly  very  great.  They  seemed  to  strain 
their  throats  with  emulation,  and  made,  perhaps,  the  most 
melodious  wild  music  I  have  ever  heard,  almost  imitating 
small  bells,  but  with  the  most  tunable  silver  sound  imagin- 
able, to  which,  maybe,  the  distance  was  no  small  addition. 
On  inquiring  of  our  people,  I  was  told  that  they  had 
observed  them  ever  since  we  had  been  here,  and  that  they 
begin  to  sing  about  one  or  two  in  the  morning,  and  continue 
till  sunrise,  after  which  they  are  silent  all  day,  like  our 
nightingales. 

1 8th.  Among  other  things  that  the  Indians  told  us 
yesterday,  one  was  that  they  expected  their  enemies  to  come 
and  revenge  the  death  of  the  seven  men,  and  some  of  our 
people  thought  that  they  had  intelligence  of  their  coming 
to-day,  which  made  us  observe  the  Indian  town,  where  the 
people  seemed  more  quiet  than  usual,  not  attending  to  their 
usual  occupations  of  fishing,  etc.  No  canoe  attempted  to 
come  near  the  ship. 

After  breakfast  we  went  in  the  pinnace  to  explore  some 
parts  of  the  bay,  which  we  had  not  seen,  as  it  was  immensely 
large,  or,  rather,  consisted  of  numberless  small  harbours, 
coves,  etc.  We  found  the  country  on  our  side  of  the  bay 
very  well  wooded  everywhere,  but  on  the  opposite  side  very 


JAN.  1770  FISHING  213 

bare.  In  turning  a  point,  we  saw  a  man  in  a  small  canoe 
fishing,  who,  to  our  surprise,  showed  not  the  least  fear  of  us. 
We  went  to  him,  and  at  our  request  he  took  up  his  nets, 
and  showed  us  his  implement,  which  was  a  circular  net 
about  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter,  extended  by  two 
hoops.  The  top  of  this  was  open,  and  to  the  bottom  were 
tied  sea-ears,  etc.,  as  bait :  this  he  let  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  when  he  thought  that  fish  enough  were  assembled 
over  it,  he  lifted  it  up  by  a  very  gentle  and  even  motion, 
so  that  the  fish  were  hardly  sensible  of  being  lifted  till  they 
were  almost  out  of  the  water.  By  this  simple  method  he 
had  caught  abundance  of  fish,  and  I  believe  it  is  the  general 
way  of  fishing  all  over  this  coast,  as  many  such  nets  have 
been  seen  at  almost  every  place  we  have  been  in.  In  this 
bay,  indeed,  fish  were  so  plentiful  that  it  is  hardly  possible 
not  to  catch  abundance  by  whatever  method  is  adopted. 

20th.  Our  old  man  came  this  morning  with  the  heads 
of  four  people,  which  were  preserved  with  the  flesh  and  hair 
on,  and  kept  I  suppose  as  trophies,  as  possibly  scalps  were 
by  the  North  Americans  before  the  Europeans  came  among 
them.  The  brains  were,  however,  taken  out ;  maybe  they 
are  a  delicacy  here.  The  flesh  and  skin  upon  these  heads 
were  soft ;  but  they  were  somehow  preserved  so  as  not  to 
stink  at  all. 

The  bay,  wherever  we  have  yet  been,  is  very  hilly ; 
we  have  hardly  seen  a  flat  large  enough  for  a  potato 
garden.  Our  friends  here  do  not  seem  to  feel  the  want  of 
such  places ;  as  we  have  not  seen  the  least  appearance  of 
cultivation,  I  suppose  they  live  entirely  upon  fish,  dogs,  and 
enemies. 

22nd.  Made  an  excursion  to-day  in  the  pinnace,  in  order 
to  see  more  of  the  bay.  While  Dr.  Solander  and  I  were 
botanising,  the  captain  went  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  in 
about  an  hour  returned  in  high  spirits,  having  seen  the 
eastern  sea,  and  satisfied  himself  of  the  existence  of  a  strait 
communicating  with  it,  the  idea  of  which  has  occurred  to  us 
all,  from  Tasman's  as  well  as  our  own  observations. 

23rd.  Mr.  Monkhouse  told  me  that  on  the  21st  he  had 


214  CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND       CH.  ix 

been  ashore  at  a  spot  where  were  many  deserted  Indian 
houses :  here  he  had  seen  several  things  tied  up  to  the 
branches  of  trees,  particularly  human  hair,  which  he  brought 
away  with  him,  enough  to  have  made  a  sizable  wig.  This 
induced  him  to  think  that  the  place  was  consecrated  to 
religious  purposes ;  possibly  it  was,  as  they  certainly  have 
such  places  among  them,  though  I  have  not  yet  been  lucky 
enough  to  meet  with  them. 

24dh.  Went  to-day  to  the  heppah  or  town,  to  see  our 
friends  the  Indians,  who  received  us  with  much  confidence 
and  civility,  and  showed  us  every  part  of  their  habitations, 
which  were  neat  enough.  The  town  was  situated  upon  a 
small  island  or  rock  separated  from  the  main  by  a  breach  in 
the  rock,  so  small  that  a  man  might  almost  jump  over  it ; 
the  sides  were  everywhere  so  steep  as  to  render  fortifications, 
even  in  their  fashion,  almost  totally  unnecessary ;  accordingly 
there  was  nothing  but  a  slight  palisade,  and  one  small  fight- 
ing stage  at  one  end  where  the  rock  was  most  accessible. 
The  people  brought  us  several  bones  of  men,  the  flesh  of 
which  they  had  eaten.  These  are  now  become  a  kind  of 
article  of  trade  among  our  people,  who  constantly  ask  for 
and  purchase  them  for  whatever  trifles  they  have.  In  one 
part  we  observed  a  kind  of  wooden  cross  ornamented  with 
feathers,  made  exactly  in  the  form  of  a  crucifix.  This 
engaged  our  attention,  and  we  were  told  that  it  was  a 
monument  to  a  dead  man ;  maybe  a  cenotaph,  as  the  body 
was  not  there.  This  much  they  told  us,  but  would  not  let 
us  know  where  the  body  was. 

25th.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  (who  have  now  nearly  ex- 
hausted all  the  plants  in  our  neighbourhood)  went  to-day 
to  search  for  mosses  and  small  things,  in  which  we  had 
great  success,  gathering  several  very  remarkable  ones.  In 
the  evening  we  went  out  in  the  pinnace,  and  fell  in  with  a 
large  family  of  Indians,  who  have  now  begun  to  disperse 
themselves,  as  is,  I  believe,  their  custom,  into  the  different 
creeks  and  coves  where  fish  are  most  plentiful.  A  few  only 
remain  in  the  heppah,  to  which  they  all  fly  in  times  of 
danger.  These  people  came  a  good  way  to  meet  us  at  a 


FEB.  1770  COOK'S  STRAITS  215 

place  where  we  were  shooting  shags,  and  invited  us  to  join 
the  rest  of  them,  twenty  or  thirty  in  number,  men,  women, 
and  children,  dogs,  etc.  We  went,  and  were  received  with 
all  possible  demonstrations  of  friendship,  if  the  numberless 
hugs  and  kisses  we  got  from  both  sexes,  old  and  young,  in 
return  for  our  ribbons  and  beads  may  be  accounted  such. 

2Qth.  Went  to-day  to  take  another  view  of  our  new 
straits,1  as  the  captain  was  not  quite  sure  of  the  westernmost 
end.  We  found  a  hill  in  a  tolerably  convenient  situation, 
and  climbing  it,  saw  the  strait  quite  open,  and  four  or  five 
leagues  wide.  We  then  erected  a  small  monument  of  stone, 
such  as  five  stout  men  could  do  in  half  an  hour,  and  laid  in 
it  musket  balls,  beads,  shot,  etc.,  so  that  if  perchance  any 
Europeans  should  find  and  pull  it  down,  they  will  be  sure 
it  is  not  of  Indian  workmanship. 

5th  February.  Our  old  man,  Topaa,  was  on  board,  and 
Tupia  asked  him  many  questions  concerning  the  land,  etc. 
His  answers  were  nearly  as  follows :  "  That  the  straits 
we  had  seen  from  the  hills  were  a  passage  into  the 
eastern  sea ;  that  the  land  to  the  south  consisted  of  two  or 
several  islands  round  which  their  canoes  might  sail  in  three 
or  four  days ;  that  he  knew  of  no  other  great  land  than 
that  we  had  been  upon  (Aehie  no  Mauwe),  of  which  Tera 
Whitte  was  the  southern  part ;  that  he  believed  his  ancestors 
were  not  born  there,  but  came  originally  from  Heawije " 
(from  whence  Tupia  and  the  islanders  also  derive  their 
origin),  "which  lay  to  the  northwards  where  were  many  lands; 
that  neither  himself,  his  father,  nor  his  grandfather  had  ever 
heard  of  ships  as  large  as  this  being  here  before,  but  that 
they  have  a  tradition  of  two  large  vessels,  much  larger  than 
theirs,  which  some  time  or  other  came  here,  and  were  totally 
destroyed  by  the  inhabitants,  and  all  the  people  belonging 
to  them  killed." 

This  last  Tupia  says  is  a  very  old  tradition,  much  older 

1  Cook's  Straits. 

2  The  Maoris  are  by  some  authorities  supposed  to  have  originally  come 
from  Hawaii,  the  direction  of  which  agrees  very  fairly  with  that  given  by  the 
natives  to   Banks.      The  Sandwich  Islands  really   lie    N.N.E.    from  New 
Zealand. 


216          CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND      CH.'IX 

than  his  great-grandfather,  and  relates  to  two  large  canoes 
which  came  from  Olimaroa,  one  of  the  islands  he  has 
mentioned.  Whether  he  is  right,  or  whether  this  is  a 
tradition  of  Tasman's  ships  (which  they  could  not  well 
compare  with  their  own  by  tradition,  and  which  their 
warlike  ancestors  had  told  them  they  had  destroyed),  is 
difficult  to  say.  Tupia  has  all  along  warned  us  not  to  put 
too  much  faith  in  anything  these  people  tell  us,  "  for,"  says 
he,  "  they  are  given  to  lying ;  they  told  you  that  one  of 
their  people  was  killed  by  a  musket  and  buried,  which  was 
absolutely  false." 

The  doctor  and  I  went  ashore  to-day,  and  fell  in  by 
accident  with  the  most  agreeable  Indian  family  we  had 
seen  upon  the  coast,  indeed  the  only  one  in  which  we 
have  observed  any  order  or  subordination.  It  consisted  of 
seventeen  people ;  the  head  of  it  was  a  pretty  boy  of  about 
ten  years  old,  who,  they  told  us,  was  the  owner  of  the  land 
about  where  we  wooded.  This  is  the  only  instance  of 
property  we  have  met  with  among  these  people.  He  and 
his  mother  (who  mourned  for  her  husband  with  tears  of 
blood,  according  to  their  custom)  sat  upon  mats,  the  rest  sat 
round  them :  houses  they  had  none,  nor  did  they  attempt 
to  make  for  themselves  any  shelter  against  the  inclemencies 
of  the  weather,  which  I  suppose  they  by  custom  very  easily 
endure.  Their  whole  behaviour  was  so  affable,  obliging,  and 
unsuspicious,  that  I  should  certainly  have  accepted  their 
invitation  to  stay  the  night  with  them,  were  not  the  ship  to 
sail  in  the  morning.  Most  unlucky  shall  I  always  esteem  it 
that  we  did  not  sooner  make  acquaintance  with  these  people, 
from  whom  we  might  have  learnt  more  in  a  day  of  their 
manners  and  dispositions  than  from  all  we  have  yet  seen. 

Qth.  Foul  wind  continued,  but  we  contrived  to  get  into 
the  straits,  which  are  to  be  called  Cook's  Straits.  Here  we 
were  becalmed,  and  almost  imperceptibly  drawn  by  the  tide 
near  the  land.  The  lead  was  dropped,  and  gave  seventy 
fathoms ;  soon  after  we  saw  an  appearance  like  breakers, 
towards  which  we  drove  fast.  It  was  now  sunset,  and 
night  came  on  apace ;  the  ship  drove  into  the  rough  water, 


FEB.  1770  PASS  COOK'S  STRAITS  217 

which  proved  to  be  a  strong  tide,  and  which  set  her  directly 
upon  a  rock.  We  had  approached  very  near  to  this  when 
the  anchor  was  dropped,  and  she  was  brought  up  about 
a  cable's  length  from  it.  We  were  now  sensible  of  the 
force  of  the  tide,  which  roared  like  a  mill-stream,  and  ran 
at  four  knots  at  least  when  it  flowed  the  fastest,  for  the 
rate  varied  much.  It  ran  in  this  manner  till  twelve  o'clock, 
when,  with  the  slack  water,  we  got  up  the  anchor  with 
great  difficulty,  and  a  light  breeze  from  the  northward  soon 
cleared  us  from  our  dangers. 

8^.  As  some  of  the  officers  declared  last  night  that  they 
thought  it  probable  that  the  land  we  have  been  round  might 
communicate  by  an  isthmus  situated  somewhere  .between 
where  we  now  are  and  Cape  Turnagain  (though  the  whole 
distance  is  estimated  at  no  more  than  ninety  miles),  the 
captain  resolved  to  stand  to  the  northward  till  he  should 
see  that  cape,  which  was  accordingly  done. 

Three  canoes  put  off  from  the  shore,  and  with  very  little 
invitation  came  on  board.  The  people  appeared  richer  and 
more  cleanly  than  any  we  have  seen  since  we  were  in  the 
Bay  of  Islands ;  their  canoes  also  were  ornamented  in  the 
same  manner  as  those  we  had  formerly  seen  in  the  north  of 
the  island.  They  were  always  more  civil  in  their  behaviour, 
and  on  having  presents  made  them,  immediately  made 
presents  to  us  in  return  (an  instance  we  have  not  before  met 
with  in  this  island).  All  these  things  inclined  me  to 
believe  that  we  were  again  come  to  the  dominions  of  Teratu. 
but  on  asking  they  said  that  he  was  not  their  king. 

9th.  By  eleven  o'clock  Cape  Turnagain  was  in  sight, 
which  convinced  everybody  that  the  land  was  really  an 
island,  on  which  we  once  more  turned  the  ship's  head  to 
the  southward. 

~L4th.  I  had  two  or  three  opportunities  this  evening  of 
seeing  albatrosses  rise  from  the  water,  which  they  did  with 
great  ease ;  maybe  they  are  not  able  to  do  so  (as  I  have 
seen)  when  they  are  gorged  with  food. 

This  morning  we  were  close  to  a  new  island l  which 

1  Banks'  Peninsula  :  it  is  not  an  island. 


218          CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND       CH.  ix 

made  in  ridges  not  unlike  the  South  Sea  Islands  (between 
the  tropics) ;  the  tops  of  these  were  bare,  but  in  the  valleys 
was  plenty  of  wood. 

23rd.  As  we  have  now  been  four  days  upon  nearly  the 
same  part  of  the  coast  without  seeing  any  signs  of  inhabit- 
ants, I  think  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  part  at  least  is 
without  inhabitants. 

In  the  evening  the  land l  inclined  a  good  deal  to  the  west. 
We  on  board  were  now  of  two  parties,  one  who  wished  that 
the  land  in  sight  might,  the  other  that  it  might  not,  be  a 
continent.  I  myself  have  always  been  most  firm  in  the 
former  wish,  though  sorry  I  am  to  say  that  my  party  is  so 
small,  that  I  firmly  believe  that  there  are  none  more  heartily 
of  it  than  myself  and  one  poor  midshipman  :  the  rest  begin 
to  sigh  for  roast  beef. 

4:th  March.  A  large  smoke  was  seen,  and  proved  to  be  an 
immense  fire  on  the  side  of  a  hill  which  we  supposed  to 
have  been  set  on  fire  by  the  natives,  for  though  this  is  the 
only  sign  of  people  we  have  seen,  yet  I  think  it  must  be 
an  indisputable  proof  that  there  are  inhabitants,  though 
probably  very  thinly  scattered  over  the  face  of  this  very 
large  country. 

9th.  The  land 2  appeared  barren,  and  seemed  to  end  in  a 
point  to  which  the  hills  gradually  declined,  much  to  the  regret 
of  us  continent-mongers,  who  could  not  help  thinking  that 
the  great  swell  from  the  south-west  and  the  broken  ground 
without  it  were  a  pretty  sure  mark  of  some  remarkable  cape 
being  here.  By  noon  we  were  near  the  land,  which  was 
uncommonly  barren ;  the  few  flat  places  we  saw  seemingly 
produced  little  or  nothing,  and  the  rest  was  all  bare  rocks 
which  were  amazingly  full  of  large  veins,  and  patches  of 
some  mineral  that  shone  as  if  it  had  been  polished,  or 
rather  looked  as  if  the  rocks  were  really  paved  with  glass ; 
what  it  was  I  could  not  at  all  guess,  but  it  was  certainly 
some  mineral,  and  seemed  to  argue  by  its  immense  abundance 
a  country  abounding  in  minerals,  where,  if  one  may  judge 

1  Near  Otago  Harbour. 
2  Stewart  Island,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  peninsula. 


MARCH  1770         APPEARANCE  OF  MINERALS  219 

from  the  corresponding  latitudes  of  South  America,  in  all 
human  probability  something  very  valuable  might  be  found. 

10th.  Blew  fresh  all  day:  we  were  carried  round  the 
point,  to  the  total  destruction  of  our  aerial  fabric  called 
continent. 

1 3th.  The  rocks  were  very  large,  and  had  veins  in  them 
filled  with  a  whitish  appearance  different  from  what  we  saw 
on  the  9th.  The  sides  of  the  hills  appeared  well  wooded, 
and  the  country  in  general  as  fertile  as  in  so  hilly  a  country 
could  be  expected,  but  without  the  least  signs  of  inhabitants. 

I4:tk.  Stood  along  shore  with  a  fine  breeze,  and  passed 
three  or  four  places  which  had  much  the  appearance  of 
harbours,  much  to  my  regret,  as  I  wished  to  examine  the 
mineral  appearance  from  which  I  had  formed  great  hopes.1 
The  country  rose  immediately  from  the  sea-side  in  steep  hills, 
tolerably  covered  with  wood ;  behind  these  was  another  ridge 
covered  in  many  places  with  snow,  which,  from  its  pure  white- 
ness and  smoothness  in  the  morning,  and  the  many  cracks 
and  intervals  that  appeared  among  it  at  night,  we  conjectured 
to  be  newly  fallen. 

~L5th.  The  country  to-day  appeared  covered  with  steep 
hills,  whose  sides  were  but  ill  wooded,  but  on  their  tops 
were  large  quantities  of  snow,  especially  on  the  sides  looking 
towards  the  south.  We  imagined  that  about  noon  we  passed 
by  some  considerable  river ;  the  sea  was  almost  covered  with 
leaves,  small  twigs,  and  blades  of  grass. 

IQtk.  Much  snow  on  the  ridges  of  the  high  hills;  two 
were,  however,  seen  on  which  was  little  or  none,  whatever 
the  cause  of  it  might  be  I  could  not  guess.  They  were  quite 
bare  of  trees  or  any  kind  of  vegetables,  and  seemed  to  con- 
sist of  a  mouldering  soft  stone  of  the  colour  of  brick  or  light 
red  ochre.  About  noon  the  country  near  the  sea  changed 
much  for  the  better,  appearing  in  broad  valleys  clothed  with 
prodigious  fine  woods,  out  of  which  came  many  fine  streams 
of  water ;  but,  notwithstanding  the  beauty  of  the  country, 
there  was  not  the  smallest  sign  of  inhabitants,  nor,  indeed, 

1  Tin  abounds  in  Stewart  Island,  but  Banks's  observations  are  no  evidence 
of  its  presence. 


220          CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND      CH.  ix 

have  we  seen  any  since  we  made  this  land,  except  the  fire 
on  the  4th. 

18th.  Immense  quantities  of  snow  newly  fallen  on  the 
hills  were  by  noon  plainly  seen  to  begin  to  melt. 

21st.  At  night  saw  a  phenomenon  which  I  have  but 
seldom  seen ;  at  sunset  the  flying  clouds  were  of  almost  all 
colours,  among  which  green  was  very  conspicuous,  though 
rather  faint. 

24:th.  Just  turned  the  most  westerly  point,1  and  stood 
into  the  mouth  of  the  straits. 

26th.  At  night  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  bay,2  in  some 
part  of  which  it  is  probable  that  Tasman  anchored. 

30th.  I  examined  the  stones  which  lay  on  the  beach: 
they  showed  evident  signs  of  mineral  tendency,  being  full 
of  veins,  but  I  had  not  the  fortune  to  discover  any  ore  of 
metal  (at  least  that  I  know  to  be  so)  in  them.  As  the 
place  we  lay  in  had  no  bare  rocks  in  its  neighbourhood,  this 
was  the  only  method  I  had  of  even  conjecturing. 

1  Cape  Farewell. 

2  Admiralty  Bay :  Tasman  anchored  in  Blind  or  Tasman's  Bay,  and  the 
massacre  of  three  of  his  crew  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in  a  small  bay 
on  its  north-west  side.— Wharton's  Cook,  p.  214,  note. 


CHAPTEE   X 

GENERAL    ACCOUNT    OF   NEW   ZEALAND 

Its  discovery  by  Tasman — Mountains— Harbours— Cultivation — Trees— Suita- 
bility of  Thames  River  for  colonisation — Climate— Absence  of  native 
quadrupeds  —  Birds  —  Insects  —  Fish —  Plants  —  Native  and  introduced 
vegetables — Absence  of  fruits — New  Zealand  flax — Population — Qualities 
of  the  natives — Tattowing  and  painting — Dress — Head-dresses— Ear-  and 
nose-ornaments — Houses — Food — Cannibalism  amongst  men — Freedom 
from  disease — Canoes — Carving — Tools — Cloth  fabrics — Nets — Tillage — 
Weapons — Spontoons — War  and  other  songs — Human  trophies — Heppahs 
— Chiefs — Religion — Burial — Language. 

As  we  intend  to  leave  this  place  to-morrow,  I  shall  spend 
a  few  sheets  in  drawing  together  what  I  have  observed  of 
the  country  and  of  its  inhabitants,  premising  that  in  this, 
and  in  all  other  descriptions  of  the  same  kind  which  may 
occur  in  this  journal,  I  shall  give  myself  liberty  to  conjecture, 
and  draw  conclusions  from  what  I  have  observed.  In  these 
I  may  doubtless  be  mistaken  ;  in  the  daily  Journal,  however, 
the  observations  may  be  seen,  and  any  one  who  refers  to 
that  may  draw  his  own  conclusions  from  them,  attending  as 
little  as  he  pleases  to  any  of  mine. 

This  country  was  first  discovered  by  Abel  Jansen  Tasman 
on  the  13th  of  December  1642,  and  called  by  him  New 
Zealand.  He,  however,  never  went  ashore  on  it,  probably 
from  fear  of  the  natives,  who,  when  he  had  come  to  an 
anchor,  set  upon  one  of  his  boats  and  killed  three  or  four 
out  of  the  seven  people  in  her. 

Tasman  certainly  was  an  able  navigator ;  he  sailed  into 
the  mouth  of  Cook's  Straits,  and  finding  himself  surrounded,  to 
all  appearance,  by  land,  observed  the  flood  tide  to  come  from 


222  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

the  south-east ;  from  thence  he  conjectured  that  there  was  in 
that  place  a  passage  through  the  land,  which  conjecture  we 
proved  to  be  true,  as  he  himself  had  certainly  done,  had 
not  the  wind  changed  as  he  thought  in  his  favour,  giving  him 
an  opportunity  of  returning  the  way  he  came  in,  which  he 
preferred  to  standing  into  a  bay  with  an  on-shore  wind, 
upon  the  strength  of  conjecture  only.  Again,  when  he  came 
the  length  of  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen  he  observed  hollow 
waves  to  come  from  the  north-east,  from  whence  he  concluded 
it  to  be  the  northernmost  part  of  the  land,  which  we  really 
found  it  to  be.  Lastly,  to  his  eternal  credit  be  it  spoken, 
although  he  had  been  four  months  absent  from  Batavia 
when  he  made  this  land,  and  had  sailed  both  west  and  east, 
his  longitude  (allowing  for  an  error  in  that  of  Batavia,  as  he 
has  himself  stated  it)  differs  no  more  than  l  from  ours, 

which  is  corrected  by  an  innumerable  number  of  observa- 
tions of  the  moon  and  sun,  etc.,  as  well  as  of  a  transit  of 
Mercury  over  the  sun,  all  calculated  and  observed  by  Mr. 
Green,  a  mathematician  of  well-known  abilities,  who  was 
sent  out  in  this  ship  by  the  Royal  Society  to  observe  the 
transit  of  Venus.  Thus  much  for  Tasman  ;  it  were  too  much 
to  be  wished,  however,  that  we  had  a  fuller  account  of  his 
voyage  than  that  published  by  Dirk  Eembrantz,  which  seems 
to  be  no  more  than  a  short  extract,  and  that  other  navigators 
would  imitate  him  in  mentioning  the  supposed  latitudes  and 
longitudes  of  the  places  from  whence  they  take  their  de- 
partures ;  which  precaution,  useful  as  it  is,  may  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  used  by  Tasman  alone. 

The  face  of  the  country  is  in  general  mountainous, 
especially  inland,  where  probably  runs  a  chain  of  very  high 
hills,  parts  of  which  we  saw  at  several  times.  They  were 
generally  covered  with  snow,  and  certainly  very  high ;  some 
of  our  officers,  men  of  experience,  did  not  scruple  to  say  as 

1  Left  blank  in  Banks's  Journal.  The  following  note  was  appended  by 
Banks  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  : — 

Though  Tasman's  longitude  of  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen  comes  near  the 
truth,  our  seamen  affirm,  and  seem  to  make  it  appear,  that  he  erred  no  less 
than  4°  49'  in  running  from  the  first  land  he  made  to  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen  ; 
if  so,  his  exactness  must  be  attributed  more  to  chance  than  skill. 


1770  MOUNTAINS  AND  SOIL  223 

much  as  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe  :  in  that  particular,  however,  I 
cannot  quite  agree  with  them,  though  that  they  must  be 
very  high  is  proved  by  the  hill  to  the  northward  of  Cook's 
Straits,  which  was  seen,  and  made  no  inconsiderable  figure,  at 
the  distance  of  many  leagues. 

The  sea  coast,  should  it  ever  be  examined,  will  probably 
be  found  to  abound  in  good  harbours.  We  saw  several,  of 
which  the  Bay  of  Islands,  or  Motuaro,  and  Queen  Charlotte's 
Sound,  or  Totarra-nue,  are  as  good  as  any  which  seamen 
need  desire  to  come  into,  either  for  good  anchorage  or  for 
convenience  of  wooding  and  watering.  The  outer  ridge  of 
land  which  is  open  to  the  sea  is  (as  I  believe  is  the  case  of 
most  countries)  generally  barren,  especially  to  the  southward, 
but  within  that  the  hills  are  covered  with  thick  woods  quite 
to  the  top,  and  every  valley  produces  a  rivulet  of  water. 

The  soil  is  in  general  light,  and  consequently  admirably 
adapted  to  the  uses  for  which  the  natives  cultivate  it,  their 
crops  consisting  entirely  of  roots.  On  the  southern  and 
western  sides  it  is  the  most  barren,  the  sea  being  generally 
bounded  either  by  steep  hills  or  vast  tracts  of  sand,  which 
is  probably  the  reason  why  the  people  in  these  parts  were 
so  much  less  numerous,  and  lived  almost  entirely  upon  fish. 
The  northern  and  eastern  shores  make,  however,  some 
amends  for  the  barrenness  of  the  others ;  on  them  we  often 
saw  very  large  tracts  of  ground,  which  either  actually  were, 
or  very  lately  had  been,  cultivated,  and  immense  areas  of 
woodland  which  were  yet  uncleared,  but  promised  great  re- 
turns to  the  people  who  would  take  the  trouble  of  clearing 
them.  Taoneroa,or  Poverty  Bay,  and  Tolago  especially,  besides 
swamps  which  might  doubtless  easily  be  drained,  sufficiently 
evinced  the  richness  of  their  soil  by  the  great  size  of  all  the 
plants  that  grew  upon  them,  and  more  especially  of  the 
timber  trees,  which  were  the  straightest,  cleanest,  and  I  may 
say  the  largest  I  have  ever  seen,  at  least  speaking  of  them 
in  the  gross.  I  may  have  seen  several  times  single  trees 
larger  than  any  I  observed  among  these;  but  it  was  not 
one,  but  all  these  trees,  which  were  enormous,  and  doubtless 
had  we  had  time  and  opportunity  to  search,  we  might  have 


224  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

found  larger  ones  than  any  we  saw,  as  we  were  never  but 
once  ashore  among  them,  and  that  only  for  a  short  time  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Thames,  where  we  rowed  for  many 
miles  between  woods  of  these  trees,  to  which  we  could  see 
no  bounds.  The  river  Thames  is  indeed,  in  every  respect, 
the  most  proper  place  we  have  yet  seen  for  establishing  a 
colony.1  A  ship  as  large  as  ours  might  be  carried  several 
miles  up  the  river,  where  she  could  be  moored  to  the  trees 
as  safely  as  alongside  a  wharf  in  London  river,  a  safe  and 
sure  retreat  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  natives.  Or  she 
might  even  be  laid  on  the  mud  and  a  bridge  built  to  her. 
The  noble  timber  of  which  there  is  such  abundance  would 
furnish  plenty  of  materials  for  building  either  defences, 
houses,  or  vessels ;  the  river  would  furnish  plenty  of  fish, 
and  the  soil  make  ample  returns  for  any  European  vege- 
tables, etc.,  sown  in  it. 

I  have  some  reason  to  think  from  observations  made 
upon  the  vegetables  that  the  winters  here  are  extremely 
mild,  much  more  so  than  in  England ;  the  summers  we  have 
found  to  be  scarcely  at  all  hotter,  though  more  equally  warm. 

The  southern  part,  which  is  much  more  hilly  and  barren 
than  the  northern,  I  firmly  believe  to  abound  with  minerals 
in  a  very  high  degree  :  this,  however,  is  only  conjecture.  I 
had  not  to  my  great  regret  an  opportunity  of  landing  in  any 
place  where  the  signs  of  them  were  promising,  except  the 
last;  nor  indeed  in  any  one,  where  from  the  ship  the 
country  appeared  likely  to  produce  them,  which  it  did  to 
the  southward  in  a  very  high  degree,  as  I  have  mentioned 
in  my  daily  Journal. 

On  every  occasion  when  we  landed  in  this  country,  we 
have  seen,  I  had  almost  said,  no  quadrupeds  originally 
natives  of  it.  Dogs  and  rats,  indeed,  there  are,  the  former 

1  A  commencement  of  colonisation  was  made  by  Samuel  Marsden,  a 
missionary,  in  1814,  in  the  Bay  of  Islands.  The  first  definite  attempt  to 
colonise  was  by  the  New  Zealand  Company  in  1840,  whose  settlement  was  at 
Wellington.  In  the  same  year  Captain  Hobson,  R.N.,  was  sent  as  Lieut.  - 
Governor  :  he  landed  in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  and  transferred  his  headquarters 
to  the  Hauraki  Gulf  in  September,  where  he  founded  Auckland  (Wharton's 
Cook,  p.  231). 


1770  QUADRUPEDS,  BIRDS,  ETC.  225 

as  in  other  countries  companions  of  the  men,  and  the  latter 
probably  brought  hither  by  the  men ;  especially  as  they  are 
so  scarce,  that  I  myself  have  not  had  opportunity  of  seeing 
even  one.  Of  seals,  indeed,  we  have  seen  a  few,  and  one 
sea-lion ;  but  these  were  in  the  sea,  and  are  certainly  very 
scarce,  as  there  were  no  signs  of  them  among  the  natives, 
except  a  few  teeth  of  the  latter,  which  they  make  into  a 
kind  of  bodkin  and  value  much.  It  appears  not  improbable 
that  there  really  are  no  other  species  of  quadrupeds  in  the 
country,  for  the  natives,  whose  chief  luxury  in  dress  con- 
sists in  the  skins  and  hair  of  dogs  and  the  skins  of  divers 
birds,  and  who  wear  for  ornaments  the  bones  and  beaks  of 
birds  and  teeth  of  dogs,  would  probably  have  made  use  of 
some  part  of  any  other  animal  they  were  acquainted  with, 
a  circumstance  which,  though  carefully  sought  after,  we 
never  saw  the  least  signs  of. 

Of  birds  there  are  not  many  species,  and  none,  except 
perhaps  the  gannet,  are  the  same  as  those  of  Europe.  There 
are  ducks  and  shags  of  several  kinds,  sufficiently  like  the 
European  ones  to  be  called  the  same  by  the  seamen,  both 
which  we  eat  and  accounted  good  food,  especially  the  former, 
which  are  not  at  all  inferior  to  those  of  Europe. 

Besides  these  there  are  hawks,  owls,  and  quails,  differing 
but  little  at  first  sight  from  those  of  Europe,  and  several 
small  birds  that  sing  much  more  melodiously  than  any  I 
have  heard.  The  sea  coast  is  also  frequently  visited  by 
many  oceanic  birds,  as  albatrosses,  shearwaters,  pintados,  etc., 
and  has  also  a  few  of  the  birds  called  by  Sir  John 
Narbrough  penguins,  which  are  truly  what  the  French  call 
a  nuance  between  birds  and  fishes,  as  their  feathers,  especially 
on  their  wings,  differ  but  little  from  scales ;  and  their  wings 
themselves,  which  they  use  only  in  diving,  by  no  means 
attempting  to  fly  or  even  accelerate  their  motion  on  the 
surface  of  the  water  (as  young  birds  are  observed  to  do), 
might  thence  almost  as  properly  be  called  fins. 

Neither  are  insects  in  greater  plenty  than  birds ;  a  few 
butterflies  and  beetles,  flesh-flies  very  like  those  in  Europe, 
mosquitos  and  sand-flies,  perhaps  exactly  the  same  as  those 

Q 


226  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

of  North  America,  make  up  the  whole  list.  Of  these  last, 
however,  which  are  most  justly  accounted  the  curse  of  any 
country  where  they  abound,  we  never  met  with  any  great 
abundance;  a  few  indeed  there  were  in  almost  every  place 
we  went  into,  but  never  enough  to  make  any  occupations 
ashore  troublesome,  or  to  give  occasion  for  using  shades  for 
the  face,  which  we  had  brought  out  to  protect  us  from  such 
insects. 

For  this  scarcity  of  animals  on  the  land  the  sea,  how- 
ever, makes  abundant  recompense ;  every  creek  and  corner 
produces  abundance  of  fish,  not  only  wholesome,  but  at  least 
as  well-tasted  as  our  fish  in  Europe.  The  ship  seldom 
anchored  in,  or  indeed  passed  over  (in  light  winds),  any 
place  whose  bottom  was  such  as  fish  generally  resort  to, 
without  our  catching  as  many  with  hooks  and  line  as  the 
people  could  eat.  This  was  especially  the  case  to  the  south- 
ward, where,  when  we  lay  at  anchor,  the  boats  could  take 
any  quantity  near  the  rocks ;  besides  which  the  seine 
seldom  failed  of  success,  insomuch  that  on  the  two  occasions 
when  we  anchored  to  the  southward  of  Cook's  Straits,  every 
mess  in  the  ship  that  had  prudence  enough  salted  as  much 
fish  as  lasted  them  many  weeks  after  they  went  to  sea. 

For  the  sorts,  there  are  mackerel  of  several  kinds,  one 
precisely  the  same  as  our  English,  and  another  much  like 
our  horse-mackerel,  besides  several  more.  These  come  in 
immense  shoals  and  are  taken  in  large  seines  by  the  natives, 
from  whom  we  bought  them  at  very  easy  rates.  Besides 
these  there  were  many  species  which,  though  they  did  not 
at  all  resemble  any  fish  that  I  at  least  have  before  seen,  our 
seamen  contrived  to  give  names  to,  so  that  hake,  bream, 
cole-fish,  etc.,  were  appellations  familiar  with  us,  and  I  must 
say  that  those  which  bear  these  names  in  England  need  not 
be  ashamed  of  their  namesakes  in  this  country.  But  above 
all  the  luxuries  we  met  with,  the  lobsters,  or  sea-crawfish, 
must  not  be  forgotten.  They  are  possibly  the  same  as  are 
mentioned  in  Lord  Anson's  voyage  as  being  found  at  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  and  differ  from  ours  in  England 
in  having  many  more  prickles  on  their  backs  and  being  red 


177°  FISH— PLANTS 


227 


when  taken  out  of  the  water.  Of  them  we  bought  great 
quantities  everywhere  to  the  northward  from  the  natives, 
who  catch  them  by  diving  near  the  shore,  feeling  first  with 
their  feet  till  they  find  out  where  they  lie.  We  had  also 
that  fish  described  by  Frezier  in  his  voyage  to  Spanish  South 
America  by  the  name  of  elefant,pejegallo,  or  poisson  coq,  which, 
though  coarse,  we  made  shift  to  eat,  and  several  species  of 
skate  or  sting-rays,  which  were  abominably  coarse.  But  to 
make  amends  for  that,  we  had  among  several  sorts  of  dog- 
fish one  that  was  spotted  with  a  few  white  spots,  whose 
flavour  was  similar  to,  but  much  more  delicate  than,  our 
skate.  We  had  flat  fish  also  like  soles  and  flounders,  eels 
and  congers  of  several  sorts,  and  many  others,  which  any 
European  who  may  come  here  after  us  will  not  fail  to  find 
the  advantage  of,  besides  excellent  oysters,  cockles,  clams,  and 
many  other  sorts  of  shell-fish,  etc. 

Though  the  country  generally  is  covered  with  an  abundant 
verdure  of  grass  and  trees,  yet  I  cannot  say  that  it  is  productive 
of  such  great  variety  as  many  countries  I  have  seen :  the  entire 
novelty,  however,  of  the  greater  part  of  what  we  found 
recompensed  us  as  natural  historians  for  the  want  of  variety. 
Sow-thistle,  garden-nightshade,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  kinds 
of  grasses,  were  exactly  the  same  as  in  England,  three  or 
four  kinds  of  fern  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  West 
Indies :  these  with  a  plant  or  two  common  to  all  the  world, 
were  all  that  had  been  described  by  any  botanist  out  of 
about  four  hundred  species,  except  five  or  six  which  we 
ourselves  had  before  seen  in  Terra  del  Fuego. 

Of  eatable  vegetables  there  are  very  few ;  we,  indeed,  as 
people  who  had  been  long  at  sea,  found  great  benefit  in  the 
article  of  health  by  eating  plentifully  of  wild  celery  and  a 
kind  of  cress  which  grows  everywhere  abundantly  near  the 
sea-side.  We  also  once  or  twice  met  with  a  herb1  like 
that  which  the  country  people  in  England  call  "  lamb's- 
quarters  "  or  "fat-hen,"  which  we  boiled  instead  of  greens  ;  and 
once  only  a  cabbage-tree,2  the  cabbage  of  which  made  us 

1  Atriplex patula,  Linn.  ;  it  is  identical  with  the  English  "fat-hen." 
2  The  most  southern  of  all  palms,  Areca  sapida,  Soland. 


228  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

one  delicious  meal.  These,  with  the  fern  roots  and  one 
vegetable  (Pandanus) l  totally  unknown  in  Europe,  which, 
though  eaten  by  the  natives,  no  European  will  probably 
ever  relish,  are  the  whole  of  the  vegetables  which  I  know 
to  be  eatable,  except  those  which  they  cultivate,  and  have 
probably  brought  with  them  from  the  country  from  whence 
they  themselves  originally  come. 

Nor  does  their  cultivated  ground  produce  many  species 
of  esculent  plants ;  three  only  have  I  seen,  yams,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  cocos,  all  three  well  known  and  much  esteemed 
in  both  the  East  and  West  Indies.  Of  these,  especially  the 
two  former,  they  cultivate  often  patches  of  many  acres,  and 
I  believe  that  any  ship  that  found  itself  to  the  northward 
in  the  autumn,  about  the  time  of  digging  them  up,  might 
purchase  any  quantity.  They  also  cultivate  gourds,  the 
fruits  of  which  serve  to  make  bottles,  jugs,  etc.,  and  a  very 
small  quantity  of  the  Chinese  paper  mulberry  tree. 

Fruits  they  have  none,  except  I  should  reckon  a  few 
kinds  of  insipid  berries  which  had  neither  sweetness  nor 
flavour  to  recommend  them,  and  which  none  but  the  boys 
took  the  pains  to  gather. 

The  woods,  however,  abound  in  excellent  timber,  fit  for 
any  kind  of  building  in  size,  grain,  and  apparent  durability. 
One,  which  bears  a  very  conspicuous  scarlet  flower 2  made  up 
of  many  threads,  and  which  is  as  big  as  an  oak  in  England, 
has  a  very  heavy  hard  wood  which  seems  well  adapted  for 
the  cogs  of  mill-wheels,  etc.,  or  any  purpose  for  which  very 
hard  wood  is  used.  That  which  I  have  before  mentioned  to 
grow  in  the  swamps,3  which  has  a  leaf  not  unlike  a  yew  and 
bears  small  bunches  of  berries,  is  tall,  straight,  and  thick 
enough 'to  make  masts  for  vessels  of  any  size,  and  seems  like- 
wise by  the  straight  direction  of  the  fibres  to  be  tough,  but  it 
is  too  heavy.  This,  however,  I  have  been  told,  is  the  case 
with  the  pitch-pine  in  North  America,  the  timber  of  which 
this  much  resembles,  and  which  the  North  Americans 
lighten  by  tapping,  and  actually  use  for  masts. 

1  Freycinetia  Banksii,  A.  Cunn.  2  Metrosideros  robusta,  A.  Cunn.      ; 

3  Podocarpus  dacrydioides,  A.  Cunn. 


1770  NEW  ZEALAND  FLAX  229 

But  of  all  the  plants  we  have  seen  among  these  people, 
that  which  is  the  most  excellent  in  its  kind,  and  which  really 
excels  most  if  not  all  that  are  put  to  the  same  uses  in  other 
countries,  is  the  plant  which  serves  them  instead  of  hemp  or 
flax.1  Of  this  there  are  two  sorts.  The  leaves  of  both  much 
resemble  those  of  flags ;  the  flowers  are  smaller  and  grow 
many  more  together.  In  one  sort  they  are  yellowish,  in  the 
other  of  a  deep  red.  Of  the  leaves  of  these  plants  all  their 
common  wearing  apparel  is  made  with  very  little  preparation, 
and  all  strings,  lines,  and  cordage  for  every  purpose,  and  that 
of  a  strength  so  much  superior  to  hemp  as  scarce  to  bear 
comparison  with  it.  From  these  leaves  also  by  another 
preparation  a  kind  of  snow-white  fibre  is  drawn,  shining 
almost  as  silk,  and  likewise  surprisingly  strong ;  of  this  all 
their  finer  cloths  are  made :  their  fishing-nets  are  also  made 
of  these  leaves,  without  any  other  preparation  than  splitting 
them  into  proper  breadths  and  tying  the  strips  together.  So 
useful  a  plant  would  doubtless  be  a  great  acquisition  to  England, 
especially  as  one  might  hope  it  would  thrive  there  with  little 
trouble,  as  it  seems  hardy  and  affects  no  particular  soil,  being 
found  equally  on  hills  and  in  valleys,  in  dry  soil  and  the 
deepest  bogs,  which  last  land  it  seems,  however,  rather  to 
prefer,  as  I  have  always  seen  it  in  such  places  of  a  larger 
size  than  anywhere  else. 

When  first  we  came  ashore  we  imagined  the  country  to 
be  much  better  peopled  than  we  afterwards  found  it ;  conclud- 
ing from  the  smokes  that  we  saw  that  there  were  inhabitants 
very  far  inland,  which  indeed  in  Poverty  Bay  and  the  Bay  of 
Plenty  (much  the  best  peopled  part  of  the  country  that  we 
have  seen)  may  be  the  case.  In  all  the  other  parts  we  have 
been  in  we  have,  however,  found  the  sea  coast  only  inhabited, 
and  that  but  sparingly,  insomuch  that  the  number  of  inhabit- 
ants seems  to  bear  no  kind  of  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
country.  This  is  probably  owing  to  their  frequent  wars. 
Besides  this  the  whole  coast  from  Cape  Maria  Van  Diemen 
to  Mount  Egmont,  and  seven-eighths  of  the  Southern  Island, 
seem  totally  without  people. 

1  Phormium  tenax,  Forst,  the  New  Zealand  Flax. 


230  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

The  men  are  of  the  size  of  the  larger  Europeans,  stout, 
clean-limbed,  and  active,  fleshy,  but  never  fat,  as  the  lazy 
inhabitants  of  the  South  Sea  Isles,  vigorous,  nimble,  and  at 
the  same  time  clever  in  all  their  exercises.  I  have  seen 
fifteen  paddles  of  a  side  in  one  of  their  canoes  move  with 
immensely  quick  strokes,  and  at  the  same  time  as  much 
justness  as  if  the  rowers  were  animated  by  one  soul,  not 
the  fraction  of  a  second  could  be  observed  between  the 
dipping  and  raising  any  two  of  them,  the  canoe  all  the 
while  moving  with  incredible  swiftness.  To  see  them  dance 
their  war  dance  was  an  amusement  which  never  failed  to 
please  every  spectator.  So  much  strength,  firmness,  and 
agility  did  they  show  in  their  motions,  and  at  the  same  time 
such  excellent  time  did  they  keep,  that  I  have  often  heard 
above  a  hundred  paddles  struck  against  the  sides  of  their  boats, 
as  directed  by  their  singing,  without  a  mistake  being  ever 
made.  In  colour  they  vary  a  little,  some  being  browner  than 
others  ;  but  few  are  browner  than  a  Spaniard  a  little  sunburnt 
might  be  supposed  to  be.  The  women,  without  being  at 
all  delicate  in  their  outward  appearance,  are  rather  smaller 
than  European  women,  but  have  a  peculiar  softness  of  voice 
which  never  fails  to  distinguish  them  from  the  men.  Both 
are  dressed  exactly  alike.  The  women  are  like  those  of  the 
sex  that  I  have  seen  in  other  countries,  more  lively,  airy, 
and  laughter-loving  than  the  men,  and  with  more  volatile 
spirits.  Formed  by  nature  to  soften  the  cares  of  more 
serious  man,  who  takes  upon  himself  the  laborious  and  toil- 
some part,  as  war,  tilling  the  ground,  etc.,  that  disposition 
appears  even  in  this  uncultivated  state  of  nature,  showing 
in  a  high  degree  that,  in  uncivilised  as  well  as  in  the  most 
polished  nations,  man's  ultimate  happiness  must  at  last  be 
placed  in  woman.  The  dispositions  of  both  sexes  seem 
mild,  gentle,  and  very  affectionate  to  each  other,  but  im- 
placable towards  their  enemies,  whom  after  having  killed 
they  eat,  probably  from  a  principle  of  revenge.  I  believe 
they  never  give  quarter  or  take  prisoners.  They  seem  inured 
to  war,  and  in  their  attacks  work  themselves  up  by  their 
own  war  dance  to  a  kind  of  artificial  courage,  which  will 


1770  INHABITANTS  231 

not  let  them  think  in  the  least.  Whenever  they  met  with 
us  and  thought  themselves  superior  they  always  attacked  us, 
though  seldom  seeming  to  intend  more  than  to  provoke  us 
to  show  them  what  we  were  able  to  do  in  this  case.  By 
many  trials  we  found  that  good  usage  and  fair  words  would 
not  avail  the  least  with  them,  nor  would  they  be  convinced 
by  the  noise  of  our  firearms  alone  that  we  were  superior 
to  them ;  but  as  soon  as  they  had  felt  the  smart  of  even  a 
load  of  small  shot,  and  had  time  to  recollect  themselves 
from  the  effects  of  their  artificial  courage,  which  commonly 
took  a  day,  they  were  sensible  of  our  superiority  and  be- 
came at  once  our  good  friends,  upon  all  occasions  placing 
the  most  unbounded  confidence  in  us.  They  are  not,  like 
the  islanders,1  addicted  to  stealing  ;  but  (if  they  could)  would 
sometimes,  before  peace  was  concluded,  by  offering  anything 
they  had  to  sell,  entice  us  to  trust  something  of  ours  into 
their  hands,  and  refuse  to  return  it  with  all  the  coolness  in 
the  world,  seeming  to  look  upon  it  as  the  plunder  of  an 
enemy. 

Neither  of  the  sexes  are  quite  so  cleanly  in  their  persons 
as  the  islanders ;  not  having  the  advantage  of  so  warm  a 
climate,  they  do  not  wash  so  often.  But  the  disgustful  thing 
about  them  is  the  oil  with  which  they  daub  their  hair, 
smelling  something  like  a  Greenland  dock  when  they  are 
"  trying  "  whale  blubber.  This  is  melted  from  the  fat  either 
of  fish  or  birds.  The  better  sort  indeed  have  it  fresh,  and 
then  it  is  entirely  void  of  smell. 

Both  sexes  stain  themselves  in  the  same  manner  with 
the  colour  of  black,  and  somewhat  in  the  same  way  as  the 
South  Sea  Islanders,  introducing  it  under  the  skin  by  a 
sharp  instrument  furnished  with  many  teeth.  The  men 
carry  this  custom  to  much  greater  lengths ;  the  women  are 
generally  content  with  having  their  lips  blacked,  but  some- 
times have  little  patches  of  black  on  different  parts  of  the 
body.  The  man  on  the  contrary  seems  to  add  to  the 

1  Throughout  the  remainder  of  the  Journal  Banks  constantly  speaks  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands  simply  as  "the  islands,"  and  their  inhabitants  as  "the 
islanders." 


232  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

quantity  every  year  of  his  life,  so  that  some  of  the 
elders  were  almost  covered  with  it.  Their  faces  are  the 
most  remarkable ;  on  them,  by  some  art  unknown  to  me, 
they  dig  furrows  a  line  deep  at  least,  and  as  broad,  the 
edges  of  which  are  often  again  indented,  and  absolutely 
black.  This  may  be  done  to  make  them  look  frightful  in 
war,  indeed  it  has  the  effect  of  making  them  most  enor- 
mously ugly ;  the  old  ones  especially,  whose  faces  are  entirely 
covered  with  it.  The  young,  again,  often  have  a  small 
patch  on  one  cheek  or  over  one  eye,  and  those  under  a 
certain  age  (maybe  twenty -five  or  twenty-six)  have  no  more 
than  their  lips  black.  Yet  ugly  as  this  certainly  looks,  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  admiring  the  extreme  elegance  and  just- 
ness of  the  figures  traced,  which  on  the  face  are  always 
different  spirals,  and  upon  the  body  generally  different 
figures,  resembling  somewhat  the  foliages  of  old  chasing 
upon  gold  or  silver.  All  these  are  finished  with  a  masterly 
taste  and  execution,  for  of  a  hundred  which  at  first  sight 
would  be  judged  to  be  exactly  the  same,  no  two  on  close 
examination  prove  alike,  nor  do  I  remember  ever  to  have 
seen  any  two  alike.  Their  wild  imagination  scorns  to 
copy,  as  appears  in  almost  all  their  works.  In  different 
parts  of  the  coast  they  varied  very  much  in  the  quantity 
and  parts  of  the  body  on  which  this  amoca,  as  they  call  it, 
was  placed ;  but  they  generally  agreed  in  having  the  spirals 
upon  the  face.  I  have  generally  observed  that  the  more 
populous  a  country  the  greater  was  the  quantity  of  amoca 
used ;  possibly  in  populous  countries  the  emulation  of 
bearing  pain  with  fortitude  may  be  carried  to  greater 
lengths  than  where  there  are  fewer  people,  and  conse- 
quently fewer  examples  to  encourage.  The  buttocks,  which 
in  the  islands  were  the  principal  seat  of  this  ornament,  in 
general  here  escape  untouched ;  in  one  place  only  we  saw 
the  contrary. 

Besides  this  dyeing  in  grain,  as  it  may  be  called,  they 
are  very  fond  of  painting  themselves  with  red  ochre,  which 
they  do  in  two  ways,  either  rubbing  it  dry  upon  their 
skins,  as  some  few  do,  or  daubing  their  faces  with  large 


1770  TATTOWING— DRESS 


233 


patches  of  it  mixed  with  oil,  which  consequently  never 
dries.  This  latter  is  generally  practised  by  the  women,  and 
was  not  universally  condemned  by  us,  for  if  any  of  us  had 
unthinkingly  ravished  a  kiss  from  one  of  these  fair  savages, 
our  transgressions  were  written  in  most  legible  characters 
on  our  noses,  which  our  companions  could  not  fail  to  see  on 
our  first  interview. 

The  common  dress  of  these  people  is  certainly  to  a 
stranger  one  of  the  most  uncouth  and  extraordinary  sights 
that  can  be  imagined.  It  is  made  of  the  leaves  of  the  flag 
described  before,  each  being  split  into  three  or  four  slips ; 
and  these,  as  soon  as  they  are  dry,  are  woven  into  a 
kind  of  stuff  between  netting  and  cloth,  out  of  the  upper 
side  of  which  all  the  ends,  of  eight  or  nine  inches,  are 
suffered  to  hang  in  the  same  manner  as  thrums  out  of 
a  thrum  mat.  Of  these  pieces  of  cloth  two  serve  for 
a  complete  dress :  one  is  tied  over  the  shoulders,  and 
reaches  to  about  their  knees ;  the  other  is  tied  about  the 
waist,  and  reaches  to  near  the  ground.  But  they  seldom 
wear  more  than  one  of  these,  and  when  they  have  it  on 
resemble  not  a  little  a  thatched  house.  These  dresses, 
however,  ugly  as  they  are,  are  well  adapted  for  their  con- 
venience, as  they  often  sleep  in  the  open  air,  and  live  some 
time  without  the  least  shelter,  even  from  rain,  so  that  they 
must  trust  entirely  to  their  clothes  as  the  only  chance  they 
have  of  keeping  themselves  dry.  For  this  they  are  certainly 
not  ill  adapted,  as  every  strip  of  leaf  becomes  in  that  case 
a  kind  of  gutter  which  serves  to  conduct  the  rain  down,  and 
hinder  it  from  soaking  through  the  cloth  beneath. 

Besides  this  they  have  several  kinds  of  cloth  which  are 
smooth,  and  ingeniously  worked;  these  are  chiefly  of  two  sorts, 
one  coarse  as  our  coarsest  canvas,  and  ten  times  stronger,  but 
much  like  it  in  the  lying  of  the  threads  ;  the  other  is  formed 
by  many  threads  running  lengthwise,  and  a  few  only  cross- 
ing them  to  tie  them  together.  This  last  sort  is  sometimes 
striped,  and  always  very  pretty  ;  for  the  threads  that  com- 
pose it  are  prepared  so  as  to  shine  almost  as  much  as  silk. 
To  both  these  they  work  borders  of  different  colours  in  fine 


234  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

stitches,  something  like  carpeting  or  girls'  samplers  in  vari- 
ous patterns,  with  an  ingenuity  truly  surprising  to  any  one 
who  will  reflect  that  they  are  without  needles.  They  have 
also  mats  with  which  they  sometimes  cover  themselves ;  but 
the  great  pride  of  their  dress  seems  to  consist  in  dogs'  fur, 
which  they  use  so  sparingly  that  to  avoid  waste  they  cut 
it  into  long  strips,  and  sew  them  at  a  distance  from  each 
other  upon  their  cloth,  often  varying  the  colours  prettily 
enough.  When  first  we  saw  these  dresses  we  took  them  for 
the  skins  of  bears  or  some  animal  of  that  kind,  but  we 
were  soon  undeceived,  and  found  upon  inquiry  that  they 
were  acquainted  with  no  animal  that  had  fur  or  long  hair 
but  their  own  dogs.  Some  there  were  who  had  their 
dresses  ornamented  with  feathers,  and  one  who  had  an 
entire  dress  of  the  red  feathers  of  parrots  ;  but  these  were 
not  common. 

The  first  man  we  saw  when  we  went  ashore  at  Poverty 
Bay,  and  who  was  killed  by  one  of  our  people,  had  his  dress 
tied  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  is  represented  in  Mr. 
Dalrymple's  account  of  Tasman's  voyage,  in  a  plate  which 
I  believe  is  copied  from  Valentijn's  History  of  the  East 
Indies  ;  it  was  tied  over  his  shoulders,  across  his  breast, 
under  his  armpits,  again  across  his  breast,  and  round  his 
loins.  Of  this  dress  we  saw,  however,  but  one  more  instance 
during  our  whole  stay  on  the  coast,  though  it  seems  con- 
venient, as  it  leaves  the  arms  quite  at  liberty,  while  the 
body  is  covered.  In  general,  indeed,  when  they  choose  to 
set  their  arms  at  liberty,  they  at  the  same  time  free  all 
their  limbs  by  casting  off  their  clothes  entirely. 

The  men  always  wear  short  beards,  and  tie  their  hair 
in  a  small  knot  on  the  top  of  their  heads,  sticking  into  it 
a  kind  of  comb,  and  at  the  top  two  or  three  white  feathers. 
The  women,  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  sex  in  general, 
seem  to  affect  rather  less  dress  than  the  men.  Their  hair, 
which  they  wear  short,  is  seldom  tied,  and  when  it  is,  it 
is  behind  their  heads,  and  never  ornamented  with  feathers. 
Their  cloths  are  of  the  same  stuff,  and  in  the  same  form,  as 
those  of  the  men. 


1770  ORNAMENTS,  ETC.  235 

Both  sexes  bore  their  ears,  and  wear  in  them  a  great 
variety  of  ornaments ;  the  holes  are  generally  (as  if  to  keep 
them  upon  the  stretch)  filled  up  with  a  plug  of  some  sort  or 
other,  either  cloth,  feathers,  bones  of  large  birds,  or  some- 
times only  a  stick  of  wood :  into  this  hole  they  often  also 
put  nails  or  anything  we  gave  them  which  could  go  there. 
The  women  also  often  wear  bunches,  nearly  as  large  as  a 
fist,  of  the  down  of  the  albatross,  which  is  snow-white. 
This,  though  very  odd,  makes  by  no  means  an  inelegant  ap- 
pearance. They  hang  from  them  by  strings  many  very 
different  things,  often  a  chisel  and  bodkins  made  of  a  kind  of 
green  talc,  which  they  value  much ;  the  nails  and  teeth  also 
of  their  deceased  relations,  dogs'  teeth,  and,  in  short, 
anything  which  is  either  valuable  or  ornamental.  Besides 
these  the  women  sometimes  wear  bracelets  and  anklets 
made  of  the  bones  of  birds,  shells,  etc.,  and  the  men 
often  carry  the  figure  of  a  distorted  man  made  of  the  before- 
mentioned  green  talc,  or  the  tooth  of  a  whale  cut  slantwise, 
so  as  to  resemble  somewhat  a  tongue,  and  furnished  with 
two  eyes.  These  they  wear  about  their  necks  and  seem 
to  value  almost  above  everything  else.  I  saw  one  instance 
also  of  a  very  extraordinary  ornament,  which  was  a  feather 
stuck  through  the  bridge  of  the  nose,  and  projecting  on  each 
side  of  it  over  the  cheeks ;  but  this  I  only  mention  as  a 
singular  thing,  having  met  with  it  only  once  among  the 
many  people  I  have  seen,  and  never  observed  in  any  other 
even  the  marks  of  a  hole  which  might  occasionally  serve 
for  such  a  purpose. 

Their  houses  are  certainly  the  most  unartificially  made 
of  anything  among  them,  scarcely  equal  to  a  European  dog's 
kennel,  and  resembling  it,  in  the  door  at  least,  which  is 
barely  high  or  wide  enough  to  admit  a  man  crawling  upon 
all  fours.  They  are  seldom  more  than  sixteen  or  eighteen 
feet  long,  eight  or  ten  broad,  and  five  or  six  high  from  the 
ridge  pole  to  the  ground :  they  are  built  with  a  sloping  roof 
like  our  European  houses.  The  material  of  both  walls  and 
roof  is  dry  grass  or  hay,  and  very  tightly  it  is  put  together, 
so  that  they  must  necessarily  be  very  warm ;  some  are  lined 


236  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

with  the  bark  of  trees  on  the  inside,  and  many  have  either 
over  the  door  or  somewhere  in  the  house  a  plank  covered 
with  their  carving,  which  they  seem  to  value  much 
as  we  do  a  picture,  placing  it  always  as  conspicuously 
as  possible.  All  these  houses  have  the  door  at  one  end ; 
and  near  it  is  a  square  hole  which  serves  as  a  window 
or  probably  in  winter  time  more  as  a  chimney ;  for  then 
they  light  a  fire  at  the  end  where  this  door  and  window 
are  placed.  The  side  walls  and  roof  project  generally  eighteen 
inches  or  two  feet  beyond  the  end  wall,  making  a  kind 
of  porch,  where  are  benches  on  which  the  people  of  the 
house  often  sit.  Within  is  a  square  place  fenced  off  with 
either  boards  or  stones  from  the  rest,  in  the  middle 
of  which  they  can  make  a  fire  ;  the  sides  of  the  house  are 
thickly  laid  with  straw,  on  which  they  sleep.  As  for  furni- 
ture, they  are  not  much  troubled  with  it;  one  chest  com- 
monly contains  all  their  riches,  consisting  of  tools,  cloths, 
arms,  and  a  few  feathers  to  stick  into  their  hair ;  their 
gourds  or  baskets  made  of  bark,  which  serve  them  to  keep 
fresh  water,  their  provision  baskets,  and  the  hammers  with 
which  they  beat  their  fern  roots,  are  generally  left  without 
the  door. 

Mean  and  low  as  these  houses  are,  they  most  perfectly 
resist  all  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  and  answer  con- 
sequently the  purposes  of  mere  shelter  as  well  as  larger 
ones  would  do.  The  people,  I  believe,  spend  little  of  the  day 
in  them  (except  maybe  in  winter) ;  the  porch  seems  to 
be  the  place  for  work,  and  those  who  have  not  room  there 
must  sit  upon  a  stone,  or  on  the  ground  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Some  few  families  of  the  better  sort  have  a  kind  of  court- 
yard, the  walls  of  which  are  made  of  poles  and  hay,  ten  or 
twelve  feet  high,  and  which,  as  their  families  are  large,  encloses 
three  or  four  houses.  But  I  must  not  forget  the  ruins,  or 
rather  frame  of  a  house  (for  it  had  never  been  finished), 
which  I  saw  at  Tolaga,  as  it  was  so  much  superior  in  size 
to  anything  of  the  kind  we  have  met  with  in  any  other 
part  of  the  land.  It  was  3  0  feet  in  length,  1 5  in  breadth,  and 
1 2  high ;  the  sides  of  it  were  ornamented  with  many  broad 


1770  HOUSES— FOOD 


237 


carved  planks  of  a  workmanship  superior  to  any  other  we 
saw  on  the  land.  For  what  purpose  this  was  built  or  why 
deserted  we  could  not  find  out. 

Though  these  people  when  at  home  defend  themselves  so 
well  from  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  yet  when  they  are 
abroad  upon  their  excursions,  which  they  often  make  in  search 
of  fern  roots,  fish,  etc.,  they  seem  totally  indifferent  to  shelter. 
Sometimes  they  make  a  small  shade  to  windward  of  them, 
but  more  often  omit  that  precaution.  During  our  stay  at 
Opoorage,  or  Mercury  Bay,  a  party  of  Indians  were  there, 
consisting  of  forty  or  fifty,  who  during  all  that  time  never 
erected  the  least  covering,  though  it  twice  rained  almost 
without  ceasing  for  twenty-four  hours  together. 

Their  food,  in  the  use  of  which  they  seem  to  be  moderate, 
consists  of  dogs,  birds  (especially  sea  fowl,  as  penguins, 
albatrosses,  etc.),  fish,  sweet  potatoes,  yams,  cocos,  some  few 
wild  plants,  as  sow-thistles  1  and  palm-cabbage,  but  above  all, 
the  root  of  a  species  of  fern  which  seems  to  be  to  them  what 
bread  is  to  us.  This  fern  is  very  common  upon  the  hills,  and 
very  nearly  resembles  that  which  grows  upon  our  hilly 
commons  in  England,  and  is  called  indifferently  fern,  bracken, 
or  brakes.  As  for  the  flesh  of  man,  although  they  certainly 
do  eat  it,  I  cannot  in  my  own  opinion  debase  human  nature 
so  much  as  to  imagine  that  they  relish  it  as  a  dainty,  or 
even  look  upon  it  as  common  food.  Thirst  for  revenge  may 
drive  men  to  great  lengths  when  their  passions  are  allowed 
to  take  their  full  swing,  yet  nature,  through  all  the  superior 
part  of  the  creation,  shows  how  much  she  recoils  at  the 
thought  of  any  species  preying  upon  itself.  Dogs  and  cats 
show  visible  signs  of  disgust  at  the  very  sight  of  a  dead 
carcass  of  their  own  species;  even  wolves  or  bears  are  said 
never  to  eat  one  another  except  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity, 
when  the  stings  of  hunger  have  overcome  the  precepts  of 
nature,  in  which  case  the  same  has  been  done  by  the  in- 
habitants of  the  most  civilised  nations.  Among  fish  and 
insects,  indeed,  there  are  many  instances  which  prove  that 

1  The  New  Zealand  bracken  and  sow-thistle  are  identical  with  the  English 
(Pteris  aquilina,  Linn.,  and  Sonchus  asper,  Vill.). 


238  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

those  that  live  by  prey  regard  little  whether  what  they 
take  is  of  their  own  or  any  other  species.  But  any  one  who 
considers  the  admirable  chain  of  nature,  in  which  man, 
alone  endowed  with  reason,  justly  claims  the  highest  rank, 
and  in  which  the  half -reasoning  elephant,  the  sagacious 
dog,  the  architect  beaver,  etc.,  in  whom  instinct  so  nearly 
resembles  reason  as  to  have  been  mistaken  for  it  by  men  of 
no  mean  capacities,  are  placed  next ;  from  these  descending 
through  the  less  informed  quadrupeds  and  birds  to  the 
fish  and  insects,  who  seem,  besides  the  instinct  of  fear  which 
is  given  them  for  self-preservation,  to  be  moved  only  by  the 
stings  of  hunger  to  eat,  and  those  of  lust  to  propagate  their 
species,  which,  when  born,  are  left  entirely  to  their  own 
care ;  and  at  last  by  the  medium  of  the  oysters,  etc.,  which 
not  being  able  to  move,  but  as  tossed  about  by  the  waves, 
must  in  themselves  be  furnished  with  both  sexes,  that  the 
species  may  be  continued;  shading  itself  away  into  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  for  the  preservation  of  whom  neither 
sensation  nor  instinct  is  wanted  ;  whoever  considers  this,  I 
say,  will  easily  see  that  no  conclusion  in  favour  of  such  a 
practice  can  be  drawn  from  the  actions  of  a  race  of  beings 
placed  so  infinitely  below  us  in  the  order  of  nature. 

But  to  return  to  my  subject.  Simple  as  their  food  is, 
their  cookery  so  far  as  I  saw  is  as  simple :  a  few  stones 
heated  and  laid  in  a  hole,  with  the  meat  laid  upon  them  and 
covered  with  hay,  seems  to  be  the  most  difficult  part  of  it. 
Fish  and  birds  they  generally  broil,  or  rather  toast,  spiking 
them  upon  a  long  skewer,  the  bottom  of  which  is  fixed 
under  a  stone,  another  stone  being  put  under  the  fore 
part  of  the  skewer,  which  is  raised  or  lowered  by  moving  the 
second  stone  as  circumstances  may  require.  The  fern 
roots  are  laid  upon  the  open  fire  until  they  are  thoroughly 
hot  and  their  bark  burnt  to  a  coal ;  they  are  then  beaten 
with  a  wooden  hammer  over  a  stone,  which  causes  all  the 
bark  to  fly  off,  and  leaves  the  inside,  consisting  of  a  small 
proportion  of  a  glutinous  pulp  mixed  with  many  fibres, 
which  they  generally  spit  out,  after  having  sucked  each 
mouthful  a  long  time.  Strange  and  unheard  of  as  it  must 


i/7o  FREEDOM  FROM  DISEASE 


239 


appear  to  a  European,  to  draw  nourishment  from  a  class  of 
plant  which  in  Europe  no  animal,  hardly  even  insects,  will 
taste,  I  am  much  inclined  to  think  that  it  affords  a  nourish- 
ing and  wholesome  diet.  These  people  eat  but  little,  and 
this  is  the  foundation  of  their  meals  all  summer,  at  least 
from  the  time  that  their  roots  are  planted,  till  the  season 
for  digging  them  up.  Among  them  I  have  seen  several 
very  healthy  old  men,  and  in  general  the  whole  of  them  are 
as  vigorous  a  race  as  can  be  imagined. 

To  the  southward,  where  little  or  nothing  is  planted,  fern 
roots  and  fish  must  serve  them  all  the  year.  Accordingly, 
we  saw  that  they  had  made  vast  piles  of  both,  especially 
the  latter,  which  were  dried  in  the  sun  very  well,  and  I 
suppose  meant  for  winter  stock,  when  possibly  fish  is  not 
so  plentiful  or  the  trouble  of  catching  it  is  greater  than  in 
summer. 

Water  is  their  universal  drink,  nor  did  I  see  any  signs 
of  any  other  liquor  being  at  all  known  to  them,  or  any 
method  of  intoxication.  If  they  really  have  not,  happy  they 
must  be  allowed  to  be  above  all  other  nations  that  I  have 
heard  of. 

So  simple  a  diet,  accompanied  with  moderation,  must  be 
productive  of  sound  health,  which  indeed  these  people  are 
blessed  with  in  a  very  high  degree.  Though  we  were  in 
several  of  their  towns,  where  young  and  old  crowded  to  see 
us,  actuated  by  the  same  curiosity  as  made  us  desirous  of 
seeing  them,  I  do  not  remember  a  single  instance  of  a 
person  distempered  in  any  degree  that  came  under  my 
inspection,  and  among  the  numbers  of  them  that  I  have 
seen  naked,  I  have  never  seen  an  eruption  on  the  skin  or 
any  signs  of  one,  scars  or  otherwise.  Their  skins,  when 
they  came  off  to  us  in  their  canoes,  were  often  marked  in 
patches  with  a  little  floury  appearance,  which  at  first 
deceived  us,  but  we  afterwards  found  that  it  was  owing  to 
their  having  been  in  their  passage  wetted  with  the  spray  of 
the  sea,  which,  when  it  was  dry,  left  the  salt  behind  it  in  a 
fine  white  powder. 

Such  health  drawn  from  so  sound  principles  must  make 


24o  GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

physicians  almost  useless ;  indeed  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  their  knowledge  of  physic  is  but  small,  judging  from  the 
state  of  their  surgery  which  more  than  once  came  under  my 
inspection.  Of  this  art  they  seemed  totally  ignorant.  I  saw 
several  wounded  by  our  shot,  without  the  smallest  applica- 
tion on  their  wounds ;  one  in  particular  who  had  a  musket 
ball  shot  right  through  the  fleshy  part  of  his  arm,  came  out 
of  his  house  and  showed  himself  to  us,  making  a  little  use 
of  the  wounded  arm.  The  wound,  which  was  then  of  several 
days'  standing,  was  totally  void  of  inflammation,  and  in 
short  appeared  to  be  in  so  good  a  state,  that  had  any 
application  been  made  use  of,  I  should  not  have  failed  to 
inquire  carefully  what  it  had  been  which  had  produced  so 
good  an  effect. 

A  further  proof,  and  not  a  weak  one,  of  the  sound 
health  that  these  people  enjoy,  may  be  taken  from  the 
number  of  old  people  we  saw.  Hardly  a  canoe  came  off  to 
us  without  bringing  one  or  more ;  and  every  town  had 
several,  who,  if  we  may  judge  by  grey  hairs  and  worn-out 
teeth,  were  of  a  very  advanced  age.  Of  these  few  or  none 
were  decrepit ;  the  greater  number  seemed  in  vivacity  and 
cheerfulness  to  equal  the  young,  and  indeed  to  be  inferior 
to  them  in  nothing  but  the  want  of  equal  strength  and 
agility. 

That  the  people  have  a  larger  share  of  ingenuity  than 
usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  nations  who  have  had  so  little  or 
no  commerce  with  any  others  appears  at  first  sight :  their 
boats,  the  better  sort  at  least,  show  it  most  evidently. 
These  are  built  of  very  thin  planks  sewn  together,  their 
sides  rounding  up  like  ours,  but  very  narrow  for  their 
length.  Some  are  immensely  long.  One  I  saw  which  the 
people  laid  alongside  the  ship,  as  if  to  measure  how 
much  longer  she  was  than  the  canoe,  fairly  reached  from 
the  anchor  that  hung  at  the  bows  quite  aft,  but  indeed 
we  saw  few  so  large  as  that.  All,  except  a  few  we  saw  at 
Opoorage  or  Mercury  Bay,  which  were  merely  trunks  of  trees 
hollowed  out  by  fire,  were  more  or  less  ornamented  by 
carving.  The  common  fishing  canoe  had  no  ornament  but 


1770  CANOES  241 

the  face  of  a  man  with  a  monstrous  tongue,  whose  eyes  were 
generally  inlaid  with  a  kind  of  shell  like  mother-of-pearl ; 
but  the  larger  sort,  which  seemed  to  be  intended  for  war, 
were  really  magnificently  adorned.  The  head  was  formed  by 
a  plank  projecting  about  three  feet  before  the  canoe,  and  on 
the  stern  stood  another,  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the 
canoe,  from  ten  to  eighteen  feet  high.  Both  these  were 
richly  carved  with  open  work,  and  covered  with  loose 
fringes  of  black  feathers  that  had  a  most  graceful  effect. 
The  gunnel  boards  were  often  also  carved  in  grotesque 
taste,  and  ornamented  with  white  feathers  in  bunches 
placed  upon  a  black  ground  at  certain  intervals.  They 
sometimes  joined  two  small  canoes  together,  and  now  and 
then  made  use  of  an  outrigger,  as  is  practised  in  the  islands, 
but  this  was  more  common  to  the  southward. 

In  managing  these  canoes,  at  least  in  paddling  them, 
they  are  very  expert.  In  one  I  counted  sixteen  paddlers 
on  a  side,  and  never  did  men,  I  believe,  keep  better  time 
with  their  strokes,  driving  on  the  boat  with  immense 
velocity.  Their  paddles  are  often  ornamented  with  carving, 
the  blade  is  of  an  oval  shape  pointed  towards  the  bottom, 
broadest  in  the  middle,  and  again  sloping  towards  the 
handle,  which  is  about  four  feet  long,  the  whole  being 
generally  about  six  feet  in  length,  more  or  less.  In  sailing  they 
are  not  so  expert ;  we  very  seldom  saw  them  make  use  of 
sails,  and  indeed  never,  unless  they  were  to  go  right  before 
the  wind.  They  were  made  of  mat,  and  instead  of  a  mast 
were  hoisted  upon  two  sticks,  which  were  fastened  one  to 
each  side,  so  that  they  required  two  ropes  which  answered 
the  purpose  of  sheets,  and  were  fastened  to  the  tops  of 
these  sticks.  In  this  clumsy  manner  they  sailed  with  a 
good  deal  of  swiftness,  and  were  steered  by  two  men  who 
sat  in  the  stern,  each  with  a  paddle  in  his  hand.  I  shall 
set  down  the  dimensions  of  one  which  we  measured,  that 
was  of  the  largest  size.  It  was  in  length  68^-  feet,  breadth 
5  feet,  depth  3-^  feet.  This  was  the  only  one  we  measured, 
or  indeed  had  an  opportunity  of  measuring. 

Of  the  beauty  of  their  carving  in  general  I  would  fain 


242          GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

say  more,  but  find  myself  much  inferior  to  the  task.  I 
shall  therefore  content  myself  with  saying  that  their  taste  led 
them  into  two  materially  different  styles,  as  I  will  call  them. 
One  was  entirely  formed  of  a  number  of  spirals  differently 
connected,  the  other  was  in  a  much  more  wild  taste,  and  I 
may  truly  say  was  like  nothing  but  itself.  The  truth  with 
which  the  lines  were  drawn  was  surprising ;  but  even  more 
so  was  their  method  of  connecting  several  spirals  into  one 
piece,  inimitably  well,  intermingling  the  ends  in  so  dexterous 
a  manner  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  for  the  eye  to  trace 
the  connections.  The  beauty  of  all  their  carvings,  however, 
depended  entirely  on  the  design,  for  the  execution  was  so 
rough  that  when  you  came  near  it  was  difficult  to  see 
any  beauty  in  the  things  which  struck  you  most  at  a 
distance. 

After  having  said  so  much  of  their  workmanship,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  say  something  of  their  tools.  As  they 
have  no  metals  these  are  made  of  stone  of  different 
kinds,  their  hatchets  especially  of  any  hard  stone  they  can 
get,  but  chiefly  of  a  kind  of  green  talc,  which  is  very  hard 
and  at  the  same  time  tough.  With  axes  of  this  stone  they 
cut  so  clean  that  it  would  often  puzzle  a  man  to  say  whether 
the  wood  they  have  shaped  was  or  was  not  cut  with  an  iron 
hatchet.  These  axes  they  value  above  all  their  riches,  and 
would  seldom  part  with  them  for  anything  we  could  offer. 
Their  nicer  work,  which  requires  nicer-edged  tools,  they  do 
with  fragments  of  jasper,  which  they  break  and  use  the  sharp 
edges  till  they  become  blunt,  after  which  they  throw  them 
away  as  useless,  for  it  is  impossible  ever  again  to  sharpen 
them.  I  suppose  it  was  with  these  fragments  of  jasper 
that  at  Tolaga  they  bored  a  hole  through  a  piece  of  glass 
that  we  had  given  them,  just  large  enough  to  admit  a  thread 
in  order  to  convert  it  into  an  ornament.  I  must  confess  I 
am  quite  ignorant  of  what  method  they  use  to  cut  and  polish 
their  weapons,  which  are  made  of  very  hard  stone. 

Their  cloths  are  made  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as 
by  the  inhabitants  of  South  America,  some  of  whose  work- 
manship, procured  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  I  have  on  board.  The 


1770  MANUFACTURES  243 

warp  or  long  threads  are  laid  very  close  together,  and  each 
crossing  of  the  woof  is  distant  at  least  an  inch  from  another. 
They  have  besides  this  several  other  kinds  of  cloth,  and 
work  borders  to  them  all,  but  as  to  their  manner  of  doing 
so  I  must  confess  myself  totally  ignorant.  I  never  but 
once  saw  any  of  this  work  going  forward ;  it  was  done  in  a 
kind  of  frame  of  the  breadth  of  the  cloth,  across  which  it 
was  spread,  and  the  cross  threads  worked  in  by  hand,  which 
must  be  very  tedious  ;  however,  the  workmanship  sufficiently 
proves  the  workmen  to  be  dexterous  in  their  way.  One 
notable  point  I  must  not  forget,  which  is  that  to  every 
garment  of  the  better  kind  is  fixed  a  bodkin,  as  if  to  remind 
the  wearer  that  if  it  should  be  torn  by  any  accident,  no 
time  should  be  lost  before  it  is  mended. 

Nets  for  fishing  they  make  in  the  same  manner  as  ours, 
of  an  amazing  size ;  a  seine  seems  to  be  the  joint  work  of  a 
whole  town,  and  I  suppose  the  joint  property.  Of  these  I 
think  I  have  seen  as  large  as  ever  I  saw  in  Europe.  Besides 
this  they  have  fish  pots  and  baskets  worked  with  twigs,  and 
another  kind  of  net  which  they  most  generally  make  use  of 
that  I  have  never  seen  in  any  country  but  this.  It  is 
circular,  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  two  or  three 
deep ;  it  is  stretched  by  two  or  three  hoops  and  open  at 
the  top  for  nearly,  but  not  quite,  its  whole  extent.  On  the 
bottom  is  fastened  the  bait,  a  little  basket  containing  the 
guts,  etc.,  of  fish  and  sea  ears,  which  are  tied  to  different 
parts  of  the  net.  This  is  let  down  to  the  bottom  where  the 
fish  are,  and  when  enough  are  supposed  to  be  gathered 
together,  it  is  drawn  up  with  a  very  gentle  motion,  by 
which  means  the  fish  are  insensibly  lifted  from  the  bottom. 
In  this  manner  I  have  seen  them  take  vast  numbers  of  fish, 
and  indeed  it  is  a  most  general  way  of  fishing  all  over  the 
coast.  Their  hooks  are  ill  made,  generally  of  bone  or  shell 
fastened  to  a  piece  of  wood ;  indeed,  they  seem  to  have  little 
occasion  for  them,  for  with  their  nets  they  take  fish  much 
easier  than  they  could  with  hooks. 

In  tilling  they  excel,  as  people  who  are  themselves  to 
eat  the  fruit  of  their  industry,  and  have  little  else  to  do  but 


244          GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

cultivate,  necessarily  must.  When  we  first  came  to  Tegadu 
the  crops  were  just  covered,  and  had  not  yet  begun  to  sprout ; 
the  mould  was  as  smooth  as  in  a  garden,  and  every  root  had 
its  small  hillock,  all  ranged  in  a  regular  quincunx  by  lines, 
which  with  the  pegs  still  remained  in  the  field. 

We  had  not  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them  work,  but 
once  saw  their  tool,  which  is  a  long  and  narrow  stake, 
flattened  a  little  and  sharpened ;  across  this  is  fixed  a  piece 
of  stick  for  the  convenience  of  pressing  it  down  with  the 
foot.  With  this  simple  tool,  industry  teaches  them  to  turn 
pieces  of  ground  of  six  or  seven  acres  in  extent.  The  soil 
is  generally  sandy,  and  is  therefore  easily  turned  up,  while 
the  narrowness  of  the  tool,  the  blade  of  which  is  not  more 
than  three  inches  broad,  makes  it  meet  with  the  less 
resistance. 

Tillage,  weaving,  and  the  rest  of  the  arts  of  peace  are 
best  known  and  most  practised  in  the  north-eastern  parts ; 
indeed,  in  the  southern  there  is  little  to  be  seen  of  any  of 
them ;  but  war  seems  to  be  equally  known  to  all,  though 
most  practised  in  the  south-west.  The  mind  of  man,  ever 
ingenious  in  inventing  instruments  of  destruction,  has  not 
been  idle  here.  Their  weapons,  though  few,  are  well  cal- 
culated for  bloody  fights,  and  the  destruction  of  numbers. 
Defensive  weapons  they  have  none,  and  no  missives  except 
stones  and  darts,  which  are  chiefly  used  in  defending  their 
forts ;  so  that  if  two  bodies  should  meet  either  in  boats  or 
upon  the  plain  ground,  they  must  fight  hand  to  hand  and 
the  slaughter  be  consequently  immense. 

Of  their  weapons,  the  spears  are  made  of  hard  wood 
pointed  at  both  ends,  sometimes  headed  with  human  bones ; 
some  are  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  long.  They  are  grasped  by 
the  middle,  so  that  the  end  which  hangs  behind,  serving  as  a 
balance  to  keep  the  front  steady,  makes  it  much  more  difficult 
to  parry  a  push  from  one  of  them  than  it  would  from  one  of 
a  spear  only  half  as  long  which  was  held  by  the  end.  Their 
battle-axes,  likewise  made  of  a  very  hard  wood,  are  about  six 
feet  long,  the  bottom  of  the  handle  pointed,  and  the  blade, 
which  is  exactly  like  that  of  an  axe  but  broader,  made  very 


1770  WEAPONS  245 

sharp  :  with  these  they  chop  at  the  heads  of  their  antagonists 
when  an  opportunity  offers. 

The  patoo-patoos,  as  they  called  them,  are  a  kind  of 
small  hand  bludgeon  of  stone,  bone,  or  hard  wood,  most 
admirably  adapted  for  the  cracking  of  skulls ;  they  are  of 
different  shapes,  some  like  an  ^-v  r~\  old-fashioned 

chopping-knife,  others  like  this,  //x  or  C^  — '  ;  always  how- 
ever, having  sharp  edges,  ^  v^  and  sufficient 
weight  to  make  a  second  blow  unnecessary  if  the  first  takes 
effect.  In  these  they  seemed  to  put  their  chief  dependence, 
fastening  them  by  a  long  strap  to  their  wrists,  lest  they  should 
be  wrenched  from  them.  The  principal  people  seldom  stirred 
out  without  one  of  them  sticking  in  their  girdle,  generally  made 
of  bone  (of  whales  as  they  told  us)  or  of  coarse,  black,  and  very 
hard  jasper,  insomuch  that  we  were  almost  led  to  conclude 
that  in  peace  as  well  as  war  they  wore  them  as  a  warlike 
ornament,  in  the  same  manner  as  we  Europeans  wear  swords. 
The  darts  are  about  eight  feet  long,  made  of  wood,  bearded 
and  sharpened,  but  intended  chiefly  for  the  defence  of  their 
forts,  when  they  have  the  advantage  of  throwing  them  down 
from  a  height  upon  their  enemy.  They  often  brought  them 
out  in  their  boats  when  they  meant  to  attack  us,  but  so  little 
were  they  able  to  make  use  of  them  against  us,  who  were  by 
reason  of  the  height  of  the  ship  above  them,  that  they  never 
but  once  attempted  it ;  and  then  the  dart,  though  thrown 
with  the  utmost  strength  of  the  man  who  held  it,  barely  fell 
on  board.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  them  pointed  with  the 
stings  of  sting-rays,  but  very  seldom  ;  why  they  do  not  oftener 
use  them  I  do  not  know.  Nothing  is  more  terrible  to  a 
European  than  the  sharp-jagged  beards  of  those  bones ;  but 
I  believe  that  they  seldom  cause  death,  though  the  wounds 
made  by  them  must  be  most  troublesome  and  painful. 
Stones,  however,  they  use  much  more  dexterously,  though 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  slings.  They  throw  by  hand  a  con- 
siderable distance ;  when  they  have  pelted  us  with  them  on 
board  the  ship,  I  have  seen  our  people  attempt  to  throw 
them  back,  and  not  be  able  to  reach  the  canoes,  although  they 
had  so  manifest  an  advantage  in  the  height  of  their  situation. 


246          GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

These  are  all  that  can  be  properly  called  arms,  but 
besides  these  the  chiefs  when  they  came  to  attack  us  carried 
in  their  hands  a  kind  of  ensign  of  distinction  in  the  same 
manner  as  ours  do  spontoons :  these  were  either  the  rib  of  a 
whale,  as  white  as  snow,  carved  very  much,  and  ornamented 
with  dogs'  hair  and  feathers,  or  a  stick  about  six  feet  long, 
carved  and  ornamented  in  the  same  manner,  and  generally 
inlaid  with  shell  like  mother-of-pearl.  Of  these  chiefs  there 
were  in  their  war  canoes  one,  two,  or  three,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  canoes.  When  within  about  a  cable's  length  of 
the  ship,  they  generally  rose  up,  dressed  themselves  in  a 
distinguishing  dress  (often  of  dog's  skin^,  and  holding  in  their 
hands  either  one  of  their  spontoons  or  a  weapon,  directed 
the  rest  of  the  people  how  to  proceed.  They  were  always 
old,  or  at  least  past  the  middle  age,  and  had  upon  them  a 
larger  quantity  of  amoca  than  usual.  These  canoes  commonly 
paddled  with  great  vigour  till  they  came  within  about  a 
stone's  throw  of  the  ship  (having  no  idea  that  any  missive 
could  reach  them  farther),  and  then  began  to  threaten  us ; 
this,  indeed,  the  smaller  canoes  did,  as  soon  as  they  were 
within  hearing.  Their  words  were  almost  universally  the 
same,  "  Haromai  haromai,  harre  uta  a  patoo-patoo  oge," 
"  Come  to  us,  come  to  us,  come  but  ashore  with  us,  and  we 
will  kill  you  with  our  patoo-patoos." 

In  this  manner  they  continued  to  threaten  us,  venturing 
by  degrees  nearer  and  nearer  till  they  were  close  alongside : 
at  intervals  talking  very  civilly,  and  answering  any  questions 
we  asked  them,  but  quickly  renewing  their  threats  till  they 
had  by  our  non-resistance  gained  courage  enough  to  begin 
their  war-song  and  dance ;  after  which  they  either  became 
so  insolent  that  we  found  it  necessary  to  chastise  them  by 
firing  small  shot  at  them,  or  else  threw  three  or  four  stones 
on  board,  and,  as  if  content  with  having  offered  such  an 
insult  unavenged,  left  us. 

The  war-song  and  dance  consists  of  various  contortions 
of  the  limbs,  during  which  the  tongue  was  frequently  thrust 
out  incredibly  far,  and  the  orbits  of  their  eyes  enlarged  so 
much  that  a  circle  of  white  was  distinctly  seen  round  the 


1770  WAR  SONG— TROPHIES  OF  HEADS  247 

iris ;  in  short,  nothing  is  omitted  which  could  render  a 
human  shape  frightful  and  deformed,  which  I  suppose  they 
think  terrible.  During  this  time  they  brandish  their 
spears,  hack  the  air  with  their  patoo-patoos,  and  shake  their 
darts  as  if  they  meant  every  moment  to  begin  the  attack, 
singing  all  the  while  in  a  wild  but  not  disagreeable  manner, 
ending  every  strain  with  a  loud  and  deep-drawn  sigh,  in 
which  they  all  join  in  concert.  The  whole  is  accompanied 
by  strokes  struck  against  the  sides  of  the  boats  with  their 
feet,  paddles,  and  arms ;  the  whole  in  such  excellent  time, 
that  though  the  crews  of  several  canoes  join  in  concert,  you 
rarely  or  never  heard  a  single  stroke  wrongly  placed. 

This  we  called  the  war-song ;  for  though  they  seemed 
fond  of  using  it  upon  all  occasions,  whether  in  war  or 
peace,  they,  I  believe,  never  omit  it  in  their  attacks.  They 
have  several  other  songs  which  their  women  sing  prettily 
enough  in  parts.  They  were  all  in  a  slow  melancholy  style, 
but  certainly  have  more  taste  in  them  than  could  be  ex- 
pected from  untaught  savages.  Instrumental  music  they 
have  none,  unless  a  kind  of  wooden  pipe,  or  the  shell  called 
Triton's  Trumpet,  with  which  they  make  a  noise  not  very 
unlike  that  made  by  boys  with  a  cow's  horn,  may  be 
called  such.  They  have,  indeed,  also  a  kind  of  small  pipe 
of  wood,  crooked  and  shaped  almost  like  a  large  tobacco 
pipe,  but  it  has  hardly  more  music  in  it  than  a  whistle  with 
a  pea.  But  on  none  of  these  did  I  ever  hear  them  attempt 
to  play  a  tune  or  sing  to  their  music. 

That  they  eat  the  bodies  of  such  of  their  enemies  as  are 
killed  in  war,  is  a  fact  which  they  universally  acknowledged 
from  our  first  landing  at  every  place  we  came  to.  It  was 
confirmed  by  an  old  man,  whom  we  supposed  to  be  the 
chief  of  an  Indian  town  very  near  us,  bringing  at  our  desire 
six  or  seven  heads  of  men,  preserved  with  the  flesh  on. 
These  it  seems  the  people  keep,  after  having  eaten  the 
brains,  as  trophies  of  their  victories,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Indians  of  North  America  do  scalps  ;  they  had  their  orna- 
ments in  their  ears  as  when  alive,  and  some  seemed  to  have 
false  eyes.  The  old  man  was  very  jealous  of  showing  them  ; 


248         GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF   NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

one  I  bought,  but  much  against  the  inclination  of  its  owner, 
for  though  he  liked  the  price  I  offered,  he  hesitated  much  to 
send  it  up ;  yet,  having  taken  the  price,  I  insisted  either  on 
having  that  returned  or  the  head  given,  but  could  not 
prevail  until  I  enforced  my  threats  by  showing  him  a 
musket,  on  which  he  chose  to  part  with  the  head  rather 
than  the  price  he  had,  which  was  a  pair  of  old  drawers  of 
my  white  linen.  The  head  appeared  to  have  belonged  to  a 
person  of  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  evidently 
showed,  by  the  contusions  on  one  side,  that  it  had  received 
many  violent  blows  which  had  chipped  off  a  part  of  the 
skull  near  the  eye.  From  this,  and  many  other  circum- 
stances, I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  these  Indians  give  no 
quarter,  or  even  take  prisoners  to  eat  upon  a  future 
occasion,  as  is  said  to  have  been  practised  by  the  Floridan 
Indians ;  for  had  they  done  so,  this  young  creature,  who 
could  not  make  much  resistance,  would  have  been  a  very 
proper  subject. 

The  state  of  war  in  which  they  live,  constantly  in  danger 
of  being  surprised  when  least  upon  their  guard,  has  taught 
them,  not  only  to  live  together  in  towns,  but  to  fortify 
those  towns,  which  they  do  by  a  broad  ditch,  and  a 
palisade  within  it  of  no  despicable  construction. 

For  these  towns  or  forts,  which  they  call  Heppahs,  they 
choose  situations  naturally  strong,  commonly  islands  or 
peninsulas,  where  the  sea  or  steep  cliffs  defend  the  greater 
part  of  their  works ;  and  if  there  is  any  part  weaker  than 
the  rest,  a  stage  is  erected  over  it  of  considerable  height — 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet — on  the  top  of  which  the  defenders 
range  themselves,  and  fight  with  a  great  advantage,  as 
they  can  throw  down  their  darts  and  stones  with  much 
greater  force  than  the  assailants  can  throw  them  up. 
Within  these  forts  the  greater  part  of  the  tribe  to  whom 
they  belong  reside,  and  have  large  stocks  of  provisions  : 
fern  roots  and  dried  fish,  but  no  water ;  for  that  article,  in 
all  that  I  have  seen,  was  only  to  be  had  from  some  distance 
without  the  lines.  From  this  we  concluded  that  sieges  are 
not  usual  among  them.  Some,  however,  are  generally  out 


1770  HEPPAHS—  CHIEF  OR  KING  249 

in  small  parties  in  the  neighbouring  creeks  and  coves, 
employed  either  in  taking  fish  or  collecting  fern  roots,  etc., 
a  large  quantity  of  which  they  bring  back  with  them,  a 
reserve,  I  suppose,  for  times  when  the  neighbourhood  of  an 
enemy  or  other  circumstances  make  the  procuring  of  fresh 
provision  difficult  or  dangerous. 

Of  these  forts  or  towns  we  saw  many ;  indeed,  the 
inhabitants  constantly  lived  in  such,  from  the  westernmost 
part  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty  to  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound ;  but 
about  Hawke's  Bay,  Poverty  Bay,  Tegadu  and  Tolaga,  there 
were  none,  and  the  houses  were  scattered  about.  There 
were,  indeed,  stages  built  upon  the  sides  of  hills,  sometimes 
of  great  length,  which  might  serve  as  a  retreat  to  save  their 
lives  at  the  last  extremity  and  nothing  else,  but  these  were 
mostly  in  ruins.  Throughout  all  this  district  the  people 
seemed  free  from  apprehension,  and  as  in  a  state  of  profound 
peace ;  their  cultivations  were  far  more  numerous  and 
larger  than  those  we  saw  anywhere  else,  and  they  had  a 
far  greater  quantity  of  fine  boats,  fine  clothes,  fine  carved 
work  ;  in  short,  the  people  were  far  more  numerous,  and 
lived  in  much  greater  affluence,  than  any  others  we  saw. 
This  seemed  to  be  owing  to  their  being  joined  together 
under  one  chief  or  king,  as  they  always  called  Teratu,  who 
lives  far  up  in  the  country.1 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  we  could  get  no  further 
knowledge  of  this  chief  or  king  than  his  name  only ;  his 
dominions  are  for  an  Indian  monarch  certainly  most  exten- 
sive. He  was  acknowledged  for  a  length  of  coasts  of  up- 
wards of  eighty  leagues,  and  yet  we  do  not  know  the  western 
limits  of  his  dominions ;  we  are  sure,  however,  that  they 
contain  the  greatest  share  of  the  rich  part  of  the  northern- 
most island,  and  that  far  the  greatest  number  of  people 
upon  it  are  his  subjects.  Subordinate  to  him  are  lesser 
chiefs,  who  seem  to  have  obedience  and  respect  paid  them 

1  The  people  who  mentioned  Teratu  to  us  pointed,  as  we  thought,  always 
inland  ;  but  since  the  country  has  been  laid  down  upon  paper,  it  appears  that 
over  the  land  in  that  direction  lies  the  Bay  of  Plenty  ;  from  hence  it  appears 
probable  that  this  is  the  residence  of  Teratu,  and,  if  so,  the  country  inland 
will  probably  be  found  to  be  quite  void  of  inhabitants.  [Note  by  Banks.  ] 


250          GENERAL  ACCOUNT  OF   NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

by  the  tribe  to  whom  they  belong,  and  who  probably 
administer  justice  to  them,  though  we  never  saw  an  instance 
of  it,  except  in  the  case  of  theft  on  board  the  ship,  when 
upon  our  complaint  the  offender  received  kicks  and  blows 
from  the  chief  with  whom  he  came  on  board. 

These  chiefs  were  generally  old  men :  whether  they  had 
the  office  of  chief  by  birth  or  on  account  of  their  age,  we 
never  learnt ;  but  in  the  other  parts,  where  Teratu  was  not 
acknowledged,  we  plainly  learnt  that  the  chiefs  whom  they 
obeyed,  of  which  every  tribe  had  some,  received  their  dignity 
by  inheritance.  In  the  northern  parts  their  societies  seemed 
to  have  many  things  in  common,  particularly  their  fine 
clothes  and  nets ;  of  the  former  they  had  but  few,  and  we 
never  saw  anybody  employed  in  making  them.  It  might  be 
that  what  they  had  were  the  spoils  of  war.  They  were 
kept  in  a  small  hut  erected  for  that  purpose  in  the  middle 
of  the  town.  The  latter  seemed  to  be  the  joint  work  of 
the  whole  society.  Every  house  had  in  it  pieces  of  netting 
upon  which  they  were  engaged ;  by  joining  these  together  it 
is  probable  that  they  made  the  large  seines  which  we  saw. 

The  women  are  less  regarded  here  than  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  so,  at  least,  thought  Tupia,  who  complained  of 
it  as  an  insult  upon  the  sex.  They  eat  with  the  men,  how- 
ever. How  the  sexes  divide  labour  I  do  not  know,  but  I 
am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  men  till  the  ground,  fish  in 
boats,  make  nets,  and  take  birds,  while  the  women  dig  up 
fern  roots,  collect  shell -fish  and  lobsters  near  the  beach, 
dress  the  victuals,  and  weave  cloth.  Thus,  at  least,  have 
these  employments  been  distributed,  when  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  them,  which  was  very  seldom ;  for  our 
approach  generally  made  a  holiday  wherever  we  went,  men, 
women,  and  children  flocking  to  us  either  to  satisfy  their 
curiosity  or  trade  with  us  for  whatever  they  might  have. 
They  took  in  exchange  cloth  of  any  kind,  especially  linen 
or  the  Indian  cloth  we  had  brought  from  the  islands,  paper, 
glass  bottles,  sometimes  pieces  of  broken  glass,  nails,  etc. 

We  saw  few  or  no  signs  of  religion  among  these  people ; 
they  had  no  public  places  of  worship,  as  the  inhabitants  of 


i?7o  MOURNING  251 

the  South  Sea  Islands,  and  only  one  private  one  came  under 
my  notice,  which  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  plantation 
of  their  sweet  potatoes.  It  was  a  small  square  bordered 
round  with  stones ;  in  the  middle  was  a  spade,  and  on  it 
hung  a  basket  of  fern  roots — an  offering  (I  suppose)  to  the 
gods  for  the  success  of  the  crops — so,  at  least,  one  of  the 
natives  explained  it.  They,  however,  acknowledged  the 
influence  of  superior  beings.  Tupia,  however,  seemed  to  be 
much  better  versed  in  legends  than  any  of  them,  for  when- 
ever he  began  to  preach,  as  we  called  it,  he  was  sure  of  a 
numerous  audience,  who  attended  with  most  profound  silence 
to  his  doctrines. 

The  burial  of  the  dead,  instead  of  being  a  pompous 
ceremony  as  in  the  islands,  is  here  kept  secret ;  we  never 
so  much  as  saw  a  grave  where  any  one  had  been  interred ; 
nor  did  they  always  agree  in  the  accounts  they  gave  of 
the  manner  of  disposing  of  dead  bodies.  In  the  northern 
parts  they  told  us  that  they  buried  them  in  the  ground ; 
and  in  the  southern,  said  that  they  threw  them  into  the  sea, 
having  first  tied  to  them  a  sufficient  weight  to  cause  their 
sinking.  However  they  disposed  of  the  dead,  their  regret 
for  the  loss  of  them  was  sufficiently  visible ;  few  or  none 
were  without  scars,  and  some  had  them  hideously  large  on 
their  cheeks,  arms,  legs,  etc.,  from  the  cuts  they  had  given 
themselves  during  their  mourning.  I  have  seen  several 
with  such  wounds  of  which  the  blood  was  not  yet  stanched, 
and  one  only,  a  woman,  while  she  was  cutting  herself  and 
lamenting ;  she  wept  much,  repeating  many  sentences  in  a 
plaintive  tone  of  voice,  at  every  one  of  which  she  with  a 
shell  cut  a  gash  in  some  part  of  her  body.  She,  however, 
contrived  her  cuts  in  such  a  manner  that  few  of  them  drew 
blood,  and  those  that  did,  penetrated  a  small  depth  only. 
She  was  old,  and  had  probably  outlived  those  violent  im- 
pressions that  grief,  as  well  as  other  passions  of  the  mind, 
make  upon  young  people ;  her  grief  also  was  probably  of 
long  standing.  The  scars  upon  the  bodies  of  the  greater 
part  of  these  people  evinced,  however,  that  they  had  felt 
sorrows  more  severely  than  she  did. 


252          GENERAL5  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  ZEALAND     CHAP,  x 

Thus  much  for  the  manners  and  customs  of  these  people, 
as  far  as  they  have  come  to  my  knowledge  in  the  few 
opportunities  I  had  of  seeing  them.  They  differ  in  many 
things,  but  agree  in  more,  with  those  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  South  Sea  Islands.  Their  language  I  shall  next  give  a 
short  specimen  of;  it  is  almost  precisely  the  same,  at  least 
fundamentally.  It  is  true  that  they  have  generally  added 
several  letters  to  the  words  as  used  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Otahite,  etc.,  but  the  original  plainly  appears  in  the  com- 
position. The  language  of  the  northern  and  southern  parts 
differs  chiefly  in  this,  that  the  one  has  added  more  letters  than 
the  other ;  the  original  words  are,  however,  not  less  visible 
to  the  most  superficial  observer.  I  shall  give  a  short  table 
of  each  compared  with  the  Otahite,  taking  care  to  mention 
as  many  words  as  possible  as  are  either  of  a  doubtful  or 
different  origin ;  premising,  however,  two  things — first,  that 
the  words  were  so  much  disguised  by  their  manner  of  pro- 
nouncing them  that  I  found  it  very  difficult  to  understand 
them  until  I  had  written  them  down ;  secondly,  that  Tupia, 
from  the  very  first,  understood  and  conversed  with  them 
with  great  facility. 

I  must  remark  that  most  of  the  southern  language  was 
not  taken  down  by  myself,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  person  who  did  it  for  me  made  use  of  more  letters 
in  spelling  the  words  than  were  absolutely  necessary.  The 
genius  of  the  language,  especially  in  the  southern  parts,  is  to 
add  some  particle — the  or  a — before  a  noun  as  we  do ;  the 
was  generally  Jce  or  Jco.  They  also  often  add  to  the  end  of 
any  word,  especially  if  it  is  in  answer  to  a  question,  the  word 
oeia,  which  signifies  yes,  really,  or  certainly.  This  some- 
times led  our  gentlemen  into  the  most  long-winded  words, 
one  of  which  I  shall  mention  as  an  example.  In  the  Bay 
of  Islands  a  very  remarkable  island  was  called  by  the  natives 
Motu  aro ;  some  of  our  gentlemen  asked  the  name  of  this 
from  one  of  the  natives,  who  answered,  I  suppose,  as  usual 
Komotu  aro;  the  gentleman  not  hearing  well  the  word, 
repeated  his  question,  on  which  the  Indian  repeated  his 
answer,  adding  oeia  to  the  end  of  the  name,  which  made  it 


1770 


LANGUAGE 


253 


Kemotuaroeia.  In  this  way  at  least,  and  no  other,  can  I 
account  for  that  island  being  called  in  the  log  -  book 
Cumettiwarroweia.  The  same  is  practised  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  only  their  particle,  instead  of 
ke  or  ko,  is  to  or  to, ;  their  oeia  is  exactly  the  same,  and, 
when  I  first  began  to  learn  the  language,  produced  many 
difficulties  and  mistakes. 


Northern. 

Southern. 

Otahite. 

A  chief 

Eareete 

Eareete 

Earee 

A  man 

Taata 

Taata 

Taata 

A  woman 

Ivahine 

Ivahine 

Ivahine 

The  head 
The  hair 

Eupo 
Macau  we 

Heaowpoho 
Heooo 

Eupo 
Roourou 

The  ear 

Terringa 

Hetahezei 

Terrea 

The  forehead 

Erai 

Heai 

Erai 

The  eyes 

Mata 

Hemata 

Mata 

The  cheeks 

Paparinga 

Hepapach 

Paparea 

The  nose 

Ahewh 

Heeih 

Ahewh 

The  mouth 

Hangoutou 

Hegowai 

Outou 

The  chin 

Ecouwai 

Hekasewai 

... 

The  arm 

Hariugaringa 

Rema 

The  finger 
The  belly 

Maticara 
Ateraboo 

Hemaigawh 

Manneow 
Oboo 

The  navel 
Come  here 

Apeto 
Haromai 

Hecapeeto 
Horomai 

Peto 
Harromai 

Fish 

Heica 

Heica 

Eyea 

A  lobster 

Koura 

Kooura 

Tooura 

Cocos 

Taro 

Taro 

Taro 

Sweet  potatoes 

Cumalo 

Cumala 

Cumula 

Yams 

Tuphwhe 

Tuphwhe 

Tuphwhe 

Birds 

Mannu 

Mannu 

Mannu 

No 

Kaoure 

Kaoure 

Ima 

The  teeth 

Hennihu 

Heneaho 

Niheo 

The  wind 

Mehow 

... 

Mattai 

A  thief 

Amooto 

Teto 

To  examine 

Mataketaki 

Mataitai 

To  sing 

Eheara 

Heiva 

Bad 

Keno 

Keno 

Eno 

Trees 

Cratou 

Eratou 

Eratou 

Grandfather 

Toubouna 

Toubouna 

Toubouna 

1. 

Tahai 

Tahie 

2. 

Rua 

Rua 

3. 

Torou 

Torou 

4. 

Ha 

Hea 

5. 

Rema 

Rema 

6. 

Ono 

t< 

Ono 

7. 

Etu 

Hetu 

8. 

Warou 

ri 

Waru 

9. 

Iva 

Heva 

10. 

Augahourou 

Ahourou 

CHAPTEE    XI 

NEW    ZEALAND    TO    AUSTRALIA  (ENDEAVOUR    RIVER) 
MARCH  31— JUNE  18,  1770 

Choice  of  routes — Reasons  in  favour  of  and  against  the  existence  of  a  southern 
continent — Suggestions  for  a  proposed  expedition  in  search  of  it — Leave 
^  New  Zealand — Malt  wort — Portuguese  man-of-war  and  its  sting — Hot 
weather — Land  seen — "Waterspouts — Variation  of  the  compass — Natives — 
Their  indifference  to  the  ship — Opposition  to  landing — Excursion  into 
the  country — Vegetation  and  animals  seen — Botanising — Timidity  of  the 
natives — Enormous  sting-rays — Treachery  of  natives — Leave  Botany  Bay 
— Ants  —  Stinging  caterpillars — Gum  trees — Oysters — Crabs — Figs  im- 
pregnated by  Gynips — East  Indian  plants — Ants'  nests — Butterflies — 
Amphibious  fish — Ship  strikes  on  a  coral  rock — Critical  position — 
Fothering  the  ship — Steadiness  of  the  crew — The  ship  taken  into  the 
Endeavour  River — Scurvy. 

HAVING  now  entirely  circumnavigated  New  Zealand,  and 
found  it,  not  as  generally  supposed,  part  of  a  continent,  but 
two  islands,  and  having  not  the  least  reason  to  imagine  that 
any  country  larger  than  itself  lay  in  its  neighbourhood,  it 
was  resolved  to  leave  it  and  proceed  upon  further  discoveries 
on  our  return  to  England,  as  we  were  determined  to  do  as 
much  as  the  state  of  the  ship  and  provisions  would  allow.  In 
consequence  of  this  resolution  a  consultation  was  held  and 
three  schemes  proposed.  One,  much  the  most  eligible,  was  to 
return  by  Cape  Horn,  keeping  all  the  way  in  the  high  lati- 
tudes, by  which  means  we  might  with  certainty  determine 
whether  or  not  a  southern  continent  existed.  This  was 
unanimously  agreed  to  be  more  than  the  condition  of  the 
ship  would  allow.  Our  provisions  indeed  might  be  equal  to 
it ;  we  had  six  months'  at  two- thirds  allowance,  but  our 


MAR.  1770      SUPPOSED  SOUTHERN  CONTINENT  255 

sails  and  rigging,  with  which,  the  former  especially,  we  were 
at  first  but  ill  provided,  were  rendered  so  bad  by  the  blow- 
ing weather  that  we  had  met  with  off  New  Zealand  that  we 
were  by  no  means  in  a  condition  to  weather  the  hard  gales 
which  must  be  expected  in  a  winter  passage  through  high 
latitudes.  The  second  was  to  steer  to  the  southward  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land  and  stand  away  directly  for  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  but  this  was  likewise  immediately  rejected.  If  we 
were  in  too  bad  a  condition  for  the  former,  we  were  in  too 
good  a  one  for  this ;  six  months'  provision  was  much  more 
than  enough  to  carry  us  to  any  port  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
the  overplus  was  not  to  be  thrown  away  in  a  sea  where  so 
few  navigators  had  been  before  us.  The  third,  therefore, 
was  unanimously  agreed  to,  which  was  to  stand  immediately 
to  the  westward,  fall  in  with  the  coast  of  New  Holland  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  after  following  that  to  the  northward 
as  far  as  seemed  proper,  to  attempt  to  fall  in  with  the  lands 
seen  by  Quiros  in  1606.  In  doing  this  we  hoped  to  make 
discoveries  more  interesting  to  trade  at  least  than  any  we 
had  yet  made.  We  were  obliged  certainly  to  give  up  our 
first  grand  object,  the  southern  continent ;  this  for  my  own 
part  I  confess  I  could  not  do  without  much  regret. 

That  a  southern  continent  really  exists  I  firmly  believe ; 
but  if  asked  why  I  believe  so,  I  confess  my  reasons  are 
weak  :  yet  I  have  a  prepossession  in  favour  of  the  fact  which 
I  find  it  difficult  to  account  for.  Ice  in  large  bodies  has 
been  seen  off  Cape  Horn  now  and  then.  Sharp  saw  it,  as  did 
Frezier  on  his  return  from  the  coast  of  Chili  in  the  month 
of  March  1714:  he  also  mentions  that  it  has  been  seen  by 
other  French  ships  in  the  same  place.  If  this  ice  (as  is 
generally  believed)  is  formed  by  fresh  water  only,  there  must 
be  land  to  the  southward,  for  the  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego 
is  by  no  means  cold  enough  to  produce  such  an  effect.  I 
should  be  inclined  to  think  also  that  it  lies  away  to  the 
westward,  as  the  west  and  south-west  winds  so  generally 
prevail,  that  the  ice  must  be  supposed  to  have  followed  the 
direction  of  these  winds,  and  consequently  have  come  from 
these  points.  When  we  sailed  to  the  southward,  in  August 


256  NEW  ZEALAND  TO  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

and  September  1769,  we  met  with  signs  of  land,  seaweed 
and  a  seal,  which,  though  both  of  them  are  often  seen  at 
great  distances  from  land,  yet  are  not  met  with  in  open 
oceans,  and  we  were  at  that  time  too  far  from  the  coast  of 
New  Zealand,  and  much  too  far  from  that  of  South  America, 
to  have  supposed  them  to  have  come  from  either  of  these. 
The  body  of  this  land  must,  however,  be  situated  in  very 
high  latitudes ;  a  part  of  it  may  indeed  come  to  the  north- 
ward, within  our  track ;  but  as  we  never  saw  any  signs  of 
land  except  at  the  time  mentioned  above,  although  I  made 
it  my  particular  business  (as  well  as  I  believe  did  most  of 
us)  to  look  out  for  such,  it  must  be  prodigiously  smaller  in 
extent  than  the  theoretical  continent-makers  have  supposed 
it  to  be.  We  have  by  our  track  proved  the  absolute  falsity 
of  over  three-fourths  of  their  positions ;  and  the  remaining 
part  cannot  be  much  relied  upon,  but  above  all  we  have 
taken  from  them  their  finest  groundwork,  in  proving  New 
Zealand  to  be  an  island,  which  I  believe  was  looked  upon, 
even  by  the  most  thoughtful  people,  to  be  in  all  probability 
at  least  a  part  of  some  vast  country.  All  this  we  have 
taken  from  them :  the  land  seen  by  Juan  Fernandez,  the 
land  seen  by  the  Dutch  squadron  under  L'Hermite,  signs  of  a 
continent  seen  by  Quiros,  and  the  same  by  Eoggeween,  etc. 
etc.,  have  by  us  been  proved  not  to  be  at  all  related  to  a 
continent.  As  for  their  reasoning  about  the  balancing  of 
the  two  poles,  which  always  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  most 
childish  argument,  we  have  already  shorn  off  so  much  of 
their  supposed  counterbalancing  land,  that  by  their  own 
account  the  south  pole  would  already  be  too  light,  unless 
what  we  have  left  should  be  made  of  very  ponderous 
materials.  As  much  fault  as  I  find  with  these  gentlemen 
will,  however,  probably  recoil  on  myself,  when  I,  on  so  light 
grounds  as  those  I  have  mentioned,  again  declare  it  to  be 
my  opinion  that  a  southern  continent  exists,  an  opinion  in 
favour  of  which  I  am  strongly  prepossessed.  But  foolish 
and  weak  as  all  prepossessions  must  be  thought,  I  would  not 
but  declare  myself  so,  lest  I  might  be  supposed  to  have 
stronger  reasons  which  I  concealed. 


i 


MAR.  1770    SOUTH  POLAR  EXPEDITION  SUGGESTED    257 

To  search  for  this  continent,  then,  the  best  and  readiest 
way  by  which  at  once  its  existence  or  non-existence  might 
be  proved,  appears  to  me  to  be  this :  let  the  ship  or  ships 
destined  for  this  service  leave  England  in  the  spring  and 
proceed  directly  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  they 
might  refresh  their  people  and  take  in  fresh  provisions, 
and  thence  proceed  round  Van  Diemen's  Land  to  the  coast 
of  New  Zealand,  where  they  might  again  refresh  in  any  of 
the  numerous  harbours  at  the  mouth  of  Cook's  Straits,  where 
they  would  be  sure  to  meet  with  plenty  of  water,  wood,  and 
fish.  Here  they  should  arrive  by  the  month  of  October,  so 
as  to  have  the  good  season  before  them  to  run  across  to  the 
South  Sea,  which  by  reason  of  the  prevailing  westerly  winds 
they  would  easily  be  able  to  do  in  any  latitude.  If  in 
doing  this  they  should  not  fall  in  with  a  continent,  they 
might  still  be  of  service  in  exploring  the  islands  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  where  they  might  refresh  themselves  and  pro- 
ceed home  by  the  East  Indies.  Such  a  voyage,  as  a  voyage 
of  mere  curiosity,  should  be  promoted  by  the  Eoyal  Society, 
to  whom  I  doubt  not  that  his  Majesty  upon  proper  applica- 
tion would  grant  a  ship,  as  the  subject  of  such  a  voyage 
seems  at  least  as  interesting  to  science  in  general  and  the 
increase  of  knowledge  as  the  observation  which  gave  rise  to 
the  present  one.  The  small  expense  of  such  an  equipment 
to  Government  is  easily  shown.  I  will  venture  roundly  to 
affirm  that  the  smallest  station  sloop  in  his  Majesty's  service 
is  every  year  more  expensive  than  such  a  ship,  where  every 
rope,  every  sail,  every  rope-yarn  even  is  obliged  to  do  its 
duty  most  thoroughly  before  it  can  be  dismissed.  How 
trifling  then  must  this  expense  appear,  when  in  return  for 
it  the  nation  acquires  experienced  seamen  in  those  who 
execute  it,  and  the  praise  which  is  never  denied  to  countries 
who  in  this  public-spirited  manner  promote  the  increase  of 
knowledge. 

At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  might  be  procured  beef, 
bread,  flour,  peas,  spirits,  or  indeed  any  kind  of  provision  at 
reasonable  rates.  The  beef  must  be  bought  alive  and  salted, 
for  which  purpose  it  would  be  proper  to  take  out  salt  from 

s 


258  NEW  ZEALAND  TO  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

Europe  :  the  general  price,  which  indeed  never  varies,  is  two- 
pence a  pound.  It  is  tolerable  meat,  but  not  so  fat  as  ours 
in  England.  Pork  is  scarce  and  dear,  of  that  therefore  a 
larger  proportion  might  be  taken  out.  Bread,  which  varies 
in  price,  is  of  the  rusk  kind,  very  good  but  rather  brown. 
Spirit  is  arrack  from  Batavia,  the  price  of  which,  after  having 
paid  the  duties  of  import  and  export,  is  60  rixdollars 
(£12  sterling)  a  legger  of  150  gallons.  Wine  is  in  great 
plenty  and  very  cheap,  and  while  I  was  there l  they  began 
to  distil  a  kind  of  brandy,  which,  however,  at  that  time  was 
as  dear  as  arrack,  and  much  inferior  to  it  both  in  strength 
and  goodness. 

Should  a  ship  upon  this  expedition  be  obliged  to  go  into 
False  Bay,  into  which  the  Dutch  remove  on  the  12th  of 
May,  most  of  these  articles  might  be  got  there  at  a  small 
advance  occasioned  by  the  carriage,  which  is  very  cheap, 
and  if  anything  were  wanted  it  might  be  bought  from 
Cape  Town  either  by  Dutch  scouts,  of  which  there  are 
several  belonging  to  the  company  in  the  harbour,  or  by 
waggons  over-land,  as  the  road  is  good  and  much  frequented 
at  that  season  of  the  year. 

3 1st  March.  Our  route  being  settled  in  the  manner 
above  mentioned,  we  this  morning  weighed,  and  sailed  with 
a  fair  breeze  of  wind,  inclined  to  fall  in  with  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  as  near  as  possible  at  the  place  where  Tasman 
left  it. 

2nd  April.  Our  malt  having  turned  out  so  indifferent 
that  the  surgeon  made  little  use  of  it,  a  method  was  thought 
of  some  weeks  ago  to  bring  it  into  use,  which  was,  to  make 
as  strong  a  wort  with  it  as  possible,  and  in  this  boil  the 
wheat,  which  is  served  to  the  people  for  breakfast :  it  made 
a  mess  far  from  unpleasant,  which  the  people  soon  grew 
very  fond  of.  I  myself  who  have  for  many  months  con- 
stantly breakfasted  upon  the  same  wheat  as  the  people,  either 
received,  or  thought  I  received,  great  benefit  from  the  use  of 

1  This  paragraph,  if  not  the  whole  of  this  discussion,  has  evidently  been 
introduced  (by  Banks  himself)  after  having  visited  the  Cape. 


APR.  1770  WORT  FOR  SCURVY  259 

this  mess.  It  totally  banished  that  troublesome  costiveness 
which  I  believe  most  people  are  subject  to  when  at  sea. 
Whether  or  no  this  is  a  more  beneficial  method  of  administer- 
ing wort  as  a  preventative  than  the  common,  must  be  left  to 
the  faculty,  especially  that  excellent  surgeon  Mr.  M'Bride, 
whose  ingenious  treatise  on  the  sea-scurvy  can  never  be 
sufficiently  commended.  For  my  own  part  I  should  be 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  salubrious  qualities  of  the  wort 
which  arise  from  fermentation  might  in  some  degree  at  least 
be  communicated  to  the  wheat  when  thoroughly  saturated 
with  its  particles,  which  would  consequently  acquire  a  virtue 
similar  to  that  of  fresh  vegetables,  the  greatest  resisters  of 
sea-scurvy  known. 

3rd.  We  got  fast  on  to  the  westward,  but  the  compass 
showed  that  the  hearts  of  our  people  hanging  that  way 
caused  a  considerable  north  variation,  which  was  sensibly 
felt  by  our  navigators,  who  called  it  a  current,  as  they  do 
usually  everything  which  makes  their  reckonings  and 
observations  disagree. 

5th.  The  captain  told  me  that  he  had  during  this  whole 
voyage  observed  that  between  the  degrees  of  40°  and  37° 
south  latitude  the  weather  becomes  suddenly  milder  in  a 
very  great  degree,  not  only  in  the  temperature  of  the  air, 
but  in  the  strength  and  frequency  of  gales  of  wind,  which 
increase  very  much  in  going  towards  40°,  and  decrease  in 
the  same  proportion  as  you  approach  3*7°. 

11th.  Went  out  shooting  and  killed  Diomedea  exulans 
and  impavida  :  saw  D.  profuga;  Procellaria  melanopus,  velox, 
oceanica,  vagdbunda,  and  longipes  ;  Nectris  fuliginosa.  Took 
up  with  dipping  -  net  Mimus  volutator,  Medusa  pelagica, 
Dagysa  cornuta,  Phyllodoce  velella,  and  ffolothuria  oUusata, 
of  which  last  an  albatross  that  I  had  shot  discharged  a 
large  quantity,  incredible  as  it  may  appear  that  an  animal 
should  feed  upon  this  blubber,  whose  innumerable  stings 
give  a  much  more  acute  pain  to  a  hand  which  touches  them 
than  nettles. 

12th.  I  again  went  out  in  my  small  boat  and  shot  much 
the  same  birds  as  yesterday :  took  up  also  chiefly  the  same 


260  NEW  ZEALAND  TO  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

animals,  to  which  was  added  Actinia  natans.  I  again  saw 
undoubted  proofs  that  the  albatrosses  eat  Holothurice  or 
Portuguese  men-of-war?  as  the  seamen  call  them.  I  had 
also  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  manner  in  which  this 
animal  stings.  The  body  consists  of  a  bladder,  on  the  upper 
side  of  which  is  fixed  a  kind  of  sail,  which  he  erects  or 
depresses  at  pleasure :  the  edges  of  this  he  also  at  pleasure 
gathers  in,  so  as  to  make  it  concave  on  one  side  and  convex 
on  the  other,  varying  the  concavity  or  convexity  to  which- 
ever side  he  pleases,  for  the  conveniency  of  catching  the 
wind  which  moves  him  slowly  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea 
in  any  direction  he  wishes.  Under  the  bladder  hang 
down  two  kinds  of  strings,  one  smooth,  transparent  and  harm- 
less, the  other  full  of  small  round  knobs,  having  much  the 
appearance  of  small  beads  strung  together :  these  he  contracts 
or  extends  sometimes  to  the  length  of  four  feet.  Both  these 
and  the  others  are  in  this  species  of  a  lovely  ultramarine 
blue,  but  in  the  more  common  one,  which  is  many  times 
larger  than  this,  being  nearly  as  large  as  a  goose's  egg,  they 
are  of  a  fine  red.  With  these  latter,  however,  he  does  his 
mischief,  stinging,  or  burning,  as  it  is  called.  If  touched  by 
any  substance  they  immediately  throw  out  millions  of 
exceedingly  fine  white  threads,  about  a  line  in  length,  which 
pierce  the  skin  and  adhere  to  it,  giving  very  acute  pain. 
When  the  animal  thrusts  them  out  of  the  little  knobs  or 
beads  which  are  not  in  contact  with  some  substance  they  can 
pierce,  they  appear  very  visibly  to  the  naked  eye  like  small 
fibres  of  snow-white  cotton. 

1 3th.  Shooting  as  usual,  but  saw  no  new  bird  except  a 
gannet,  which  came  not  near  me.  Of  these  for  four  or  five 
days  past  I  have  killed  a  good  many ;  indeed,  during  the 
whole  time  they  have  been  tame  and  appeared  unknowing 
and  unsuspicious  of  men,  the  generality  of  them  flying  to 
the  boat  as  soon  as  they  saw  it,  which  is  generally  the  case 
at  great  distances  from  land.  Took  up  Dagysa  vitrea  and 
gemma,  Medusa  radiata  and  porpita,  Helix  ianthina,  very 
large  Doris  complanata,  and  Beroe  lilola :  saw  a  large  shoal 

1  See  footnote,  p.  15. 


APR.  1770     AUSTRALIA— WEATHER— WATERSPOUTS      261 

of  Esox  sconiboides  leaping  out  of  the  water  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary manner,  pursued  by  a  large  fish,  which  I  saw  but 
could  not  strike,  though  I  did  two  of  the  former.  In  the 
evening  saw  several  fish  much  resembling  bonitos. 

The  weather  we  have  had  for  these  nine  days  past,  and 
the  things  we  have  seen  upon  the  sea,  are  so  extraordinary 
that  I  cannot  help  recapitulating  a  little.  The  weather,  in 
the  first  place,  which  till  the  fifth  was  cool,  or  rather  cold, 
became  at  once  troublesomely  hot,  bringing  with  it  a  mouldy 
dampness  such  as  we  experienced  between  the  tropics :  the 
thermometer,  although  it  showed  a  considerable  difference 
in  the  degree  of  heat,  was  not  nearly  so  sensible  of  it  as  our 
bodies,  which  I  believe  is  generally  the  case  when  a  damp 
air  accompanies  warmth.  During  the  continuance  of  this 
weather  the  inhabitants  of  the  tropical  seas  appeared : 
the  tropic  bird,  flying  fish,  and  Medusa  porpita  are  animals 
very  rarely  seen  out  of  the  influence  of  trade  winds. 
Several  others  also  I  have  never  before  seen  in  so  high  a 
latitude,  and  never  before  in  such  perfection  as  now,  except 
between  the  tropics.  All  these  uncommon  appearances  I 
myself  can  find  no  other  method  of  accounting  for  than  the 
uncommon  length  of  time  that  the  wind  had  remained  in 
the  eastern  quarter  before  this,  which  possibly  had  all  that 
time  blown  home  from  the  trade  wind ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  as  it  kept  the  sea  in  a  quiet  and  still  state,  had 
brought  with  it  the  produce  of  the  climate  from  which  it 
came. 

~L9th.  With  the  first  daylight  this  morning  the  land1 
was  seen ;  it  made  in  sloping  hills  covered  in  part  with 
trees  or  bushes,  but  interspersed  with  large  tracts  of  sand. 
At  noon  we  were  sailing  along  shore,  five  or  six  leagues 
from  it,  with  a  brisk  breeze  of  wind  and  cloudy  unsettled 
weather,  when  we  were  called  upon  deck  to  see  three  water- 
spouts which  made  their  appearance  at  the  same  time  in 
different  places,  but  all  between  us  and  the  land.  Two, 

1  To  the  southward  of  Cape  Howe.  The  most  southerly  land  seen  was  by 
Captain  Cook  called  Point  Hicks.  It  is  not  a  point,  but  a  hill,  still  called 
Point  Hicks  Hill  (Wharton's  Cook,  p.  237,  note). 


262  NEW  ZEALAND  TO  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

which  were  very  distant,  soon  disappeared ;  but  the  third, 
which  was  about  a  league  from  us,  lasted  fully  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  It  was  a  column  which  appeared  of  the  thickness 
of  a  mast  or  a  middling  tree,  and  reached  down  from  a 
smoke-coloured  cloud  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  to  the 
surface  of  the  sea.  Under  it  the  sea  appeared  to  be  much 
troubled  for  a  considerable  space,  and  from  the  whole  of 
that  space  arose  a  dark-coloured  thick  mist  reaching  to  the 
bottom  of  the  pipe,  where  it  was  at  its  greatest  distance 
from  the  water.  The  pipe  itself  was  perfectly  transparent, 
and  much  resembled  a  tube  of  glass  or  a  column  of  water, 
if  such  a  thing  could  be  supposed  to  be  suspended  in  the 
air :  it  very  frequently  contracted  and  dilated,  lengthened 
and  shortened  itself,  and  that  by  very  quick  motions.  It 
very  seldom  remained  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  but 
generally  inclined  either  one  way  or  the  other  in  a  curve,  as 
a  light  body  acted  upon  by  the  wind  is  observed  to  do. 
During  the  whole  time  that  it  lasted,  smaller  ones  seemed 
to  attempt  to  form  in  its  neighbourhood ;  at  last  one  almost 
as  thick  as  a  rope  formed  close  by  it,  and  became  longer 
than  the  old  one,  which  at  that  time  was  in  its  shortest 
state ;  upon  this  they  joined  together  in  an  instant,  and 
gradually  contracting  into  the  cloud,  disappeared. 

22nd.  We  stood  in  with  the  land,  near  enough  to  dis- 
cern five  people,  who  appeared  through  our  glasses  to  be 
enormously  black :  so  far  did  the  prejudices  which  we  had 
built  on  Dampier's  account  influence  us,  that  we  fancied  we 
could  see  their  colour  when  we  could  scarce  distinguish 
whether  or  not  they  were  men. 

Since  we  have  been  on  the  coast,  we  have  not  observed 
those  large  fires  which  we  so  frequently  saw  in  the  islands 
and  New  Zealand,  made  by  the  natives  in  order  to  clear  the 
ground  for  cultivation  :  we  thence  concluded  not  much  in 
favour  of  our  future  friends.  It  has  long  been  an  obser- 
vation among  us,  that  the  air  in  this  southern  hemisphere 
was  much  clearer  than  in  our  northern :  these  last  few  days 
at  least  it  has  appeared  remarkably  so. 

2  3rd.  Took  with  the  dipping-net  Cancer  erythrophthalmus, 


APR.  1770  VARIATION  OF  THE  COMPASS  263 

Medusa  radiata,  pelagica  ;  Dagysa  gemma,  strumosa,  cornuta ; 
HolotJiuria  obtusata  ;  Phyllodoce  velella  and  Mimus  volutator. 
The  master  to-day,  in  conversation,  made  a  remark  on  the 
variation  of  the  needle,  which  struck  me  much.  As  to  me  it 
was  new,  and  appeared  to  throw  much  light  on  the  theory 
of  that  phenomenon.  The  variation  is  here  very  small :  he 
says  that  he  has  three  times  crossed  the  line  of  no  variation, 
and  that  at  all  those  times,  as  well  as  at  this,  he  has 
observed  the  needle  to  be  very  unsteady,  moving  very  easily 
and  scarcely  at  all  fixing.  This  he  showed  me ;  he  also  told 
me  that  in  several  places  he  had  been  in,  the  land  had  a  very 
remarkable  effect  upon  the  variation,  as  in  the  place  we  were 
in  now :  at  one  or  two  leagues  distant  from  the  shore,  the 
variation  was  two  degrees  less  than  at  eight  leagues  distance. 

2*7  th.  Some  bodies,  three  feet  long  and  half  as  broad, 
floated  very  buoyantly  past  the  ship :  they  were  supposed 
to  be  cuttle  bones,  which  indeed  they  a  good  deal  resembled, 
but  for  their  enormous  size. 

28th.  An  opening  appearing  like  a  harbour  was  seen, 
and  we  stood  directly  in  for  it :  a  small  smoke  arising  from 
a  very  barren  place  directed  our  glasses  that  way,  and  we 
soon  saw  ten  people  who,  on  our  approach,  left  the  fire,  and 
retired  to  a  little  eminence,  whence  they  could  conveniently 
see  the  ship.  Soon  after  this  two  canoes  carrying  two  men 
each  landed  on  the  beach  under  them :  the  men  hauled  up 
their  boats,  and  went  to  their  fellows  upon  the  hill.  Our  boat, 
which  had  been  sent  ahead  to  sound,  now  approached  the 
place,  and  they  all  retired  higher  up  the  hill.  We  saw,  how- 
ever, that  at  the  beach  or  landing-place  one  man  at  least  was 
hidden  among  some  rocks,  and  never,  so  far  as  we  could  see,  left 
that  place.  Our  boat  proceeded  along  shore,  and  the  Indians 
followed  her  at  a  distance ;  when  she  came  back  the  officer 
who  was  in  her  told  me  that  in  a  cove,  a  little  within  the 
harbour,  they  came  down  to  the  beach  and  invited  our 
people  to  land  by  many  signs  and  words  which  he  did  not 
at  all  understand.  All,  however,  were  armed  with  long 
pikes"  and  a  wooden  weapon  made  like  a  short  scimitar.1 

1  A  boomerang. 


264  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

During  this  time,  a  few  of  the  Indians  who  had  not  followed 
the  boat  remained  on  the  rocks  opposite  the  ship,  threaten- 
ing and  menacing  with  their  pikes  and  swords :  two  in 
particular,  who  were  painted  with  white,  their  faces  seem- 
ingly only  dusted  over  with  it,  their  bodies  painted  with 
broad  strokes  drawn  over  their  breasts  and  backs,  resembling 
much  a  soldier's  cross-belt,  and  their  legs  and  thighs  also 
with  broad  strokes  drawn  round  them,  like  broad  garters  or 
bracelets.  Each  of  these  held  in  his  hand  a  wooden  weapon 
about  2^  feet  long,  in  shape  much  resembling  a  scimitar ; 
the  blades  of  these  looked  whitish,  and  some  thought  shining, 
insomuch  that  they  were  almost  of  opinion  that  they  were 
made  of  some  kind  of  metal ;  but  I  thought  they  were 
only  wood  smeared  over  with  the  white  pigment  with 
which  they  paint  their  bodies.  These  two  seemed  to  talk 
earnestly  together,  at  times  brandishing  their  crooked 
weapons  at  us,  as  in  token  of  defiance.  By  noon  we  were 
within  the  mouth  of  the  inlet,1  which  appeared  to  be  very 
good.  Under  the  south  head  of  it  were  four  small  canoes, 
each  containing  one  man,  who  held  in  his  hand  a  long 
pole,  with  which  he  struck  fish,  venturing  with  his  little 
embarkation  almost  into  the  surf.  These  people  seemed  to 
be  totally  engaged  in  what  they  were  about :  the  ship  passed 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  them,  and  yet  they  scarcely 
lifted  their  eyes  from  their  employment.  I  was  almost 
inclined  to  think  that,  attentive  to  their  business  and 
deafened  by  the  noise  of  the  surf,  they  neither  saw  nor 
heard  her  go  past. 

We  came  to  an  anchor  abreast  of  a  small  village  con- 
sisting of  six  or  eight  houses.  Soon  after  this  an  old  woman, 
followed  by  three  children,  came  out  of  the  wood :  she 
carried  several  pieces  of  stick,  and  the  children  also  had 
their  little  burthens.  When  she  came  to  the  houses,  three 
younger  children  came  out  of  one  of  them  to  meet  her.  She 
often  looked  at  the  ship,  but  expressed  neither  surprise  nor 
concern :  she  then  lighted  a  fire,  and  the  four  canoes  came 

1  Botany  Bay.    It  was  Banks  who,  on  his  return  to  England,  recommended 
the  Government  to  form  a  penal  settlement  at  this  spot. 


APR.  1770  LAND  AT  BOTANY  BAY  265 

in  from  fishing,  the  people  landed,  hauled  up  their  boats 
and  began  to  dress  their  dinner,  to  all  appearance  totally 
unmoved  by  us,  though  we  were  within  little  more  than 
half  a  mile  of  them.  On  all  these  people  whom  we  had 
seen  so  distinctly  through  our  glasses,  we  had  been  unable 
to  observe  the  least  signs  of  clothing ;  myself,  to  the  best  of 
my  judgment,  plainly  discerned  that  the  women  did  not 
copy  our  mother  Eve  even  in  the  fig-leaf. 

After  dinner  the  boats  were  manned,  and  we  set  out 
from  the  ship,  intending  to  land  at  the  place  where  we  saw 
these  people,  hoping  that  as  they  regarded  the  ship's  coming 
into  the  bay  so  little,  they  would  as  little  regard  our  land- 
ing. "We  were  in  this,  however,  mistaken ;  for  as  soon  as 
we  approached  the  rocks  two  of  the  men  came  down,  each 
armed  with  a  lance  about  10  feet  long,  and  a  short  stick, 
which  he  seemed  to  handle  as  though  it  was  a  machine  to 
throw  the  lance.  They  called  to  us  very  loudly  in  a  harsh 
sounding  language,  of  which  neither  we  nor  Tupia  under- 
stood a  word,  shaking  their  lances  and  menacing;  in  all 
appearance  resolved  to  dispute  our  landing  to  the  utmost, 
though  they  were  but  two,  and  we  thirty  or  forty  at  least. 
In  this  manner  we  parleyed  with  them  for  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  they  waving  to  us  to  be  gone ;  we  again  signing 
that  we  wanted  water,  and  that  we  meant  them  no  harm. 
They  remained  resolute :  so  a  musket  was  fired  over  them, 
the  effect  of  which  was  that  the  younger  of  the  two  dropped 
a  bundle  of  lances  on  the  rock  the  instant  he  heard 
the  report.  He,  however,  snatched  them  up  again,  and 
both  renewed  their  threats  and  opposition.  A  musket 
loaded  with  small  shot  was  now  fired  at  the  elder  of  the 
two,  who  was  about  forty  yards  from  the  boat ;  it  struck 
him  on  the  legs,  but  he  minded  it  very  little,  so  another 
was  immediately  fired  at  him.  On  this  he  ran  up  to  the 
house,  about  a  hundred  yards  distant,  and  soon  returned 
with  a  shield.  In  the  meantime  we  had  landed  on  the  rock. 
The  man  immediately  threw  a  lance  at  us  and  the  young 
man  another,  which  fell  among  the  thickest  of  us,  but  hurt 
nobody ;  two  more  muskets  with  small  shot  were  then  fired 


266  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

at  them,  whereupon  the  elder  threw  one  more  lance  and 
ran  away,  as  did  the  other.  We  went  up  to  the  houses,  in 
one  of  which  we  found  the  children  hidden  behind  the  shield, 
and  a  piece  of  bark. 

We  were  conscious,  from  the  distance  the  people  had 
been  from  us  when  we  fired,  that  the  shot  could  have  done 
them  no  material  harm ;  we  therefore  resolved  to  leave  the 
children  upon  the  spot  without  even  opening  their  shelter ; 
we  therefore  threw  into  the  house  to  them  some  beads, 
ribbons,  cloth,  etc.,  as  presents,  and  went  away.  We,  how- 
ever, thought  it  no  improper  measure  to  take  away  with  us 
all  the  lances  which  we  could  find  about  the  houses,  amount- 
ing in  number  to  forty  or  fifty.  They  varied  in  length  from 
6  to  1 5  feet.  Both  those  which  were  thrown  at  us,  and  all 
we  found,  except  one,  had  four  prongs  headed  with  very  sharp 
fish  bones,  which  were  besmeared  with  a  greenish-coloured 
gum,  that  at  first  gave  me  some  suspicion  of  poison. 

The  people  were  blacker  than  any  we  have  seen  on  the 
voyage,  though  by  no  means  negroes ;  their  beards  were 
thick  and  bushy,  and  they  seemed  to  have  a  redundancy  of 
hair  upon  those  parts  of  the  body  where  it  commonly  grows. 
The  hair  of  their  heads  was  bushy  and  thick,  but  by  no 
means  woolly  like  that  of  a  negro.  They  were  of  a  common 
size,  lean,  and  seemed  active  and  nimble ;  their  voices  were 
coarse  and  strong.  Upon  examining  the  lances  we  had  taken 
from  them,  we  found  that  most  of  them  had  been  used  in 
striking  fish ;  at  least  we  concluded  so  from  the  seaweed 
which  was  found  stuck  in  among  the  four  prongs. 

At  night  many  moving  lights  were  seen  at  different 
parts  of  the  bay ;  such  we  had  been  used  to  see  at  the 
Islands,  from  hence  we  supposed  that  the  people  here  strike 
fish  in  the  same  manner. 

29^.  The  fishing  fires,  as  we  supposed  them  to  be,  were 
seen  during  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  In  the  morning 
we  went  ashore  at  the  houses,  but  found  not  the  least  good 
effect  from  our  presents  yesterday.  No  signs  of  people 
were  to  be  seen ;  and  in  the  house  where  the  children  were 
yesterday,  was  left  everything  which  we  had  thrown  to  them. 


MAY  1770  EXCURSION  INLAND  267 

1st  May.  The  captain,  Dr.  Solander,  and  myself,  and 
some  of  the  people,  making  in  all  ten  muskets,  resolved 
to  make  an  excursion  into  the  country.  We  accordingly 
did  so,  and  walked  till  we  completely  tired  ourselves,  which 
was  in  the  evening ;  seeing  by  the  way  only  one  Indian,  who 
ran  from  us  as  soon  as  he  saw  us.  The  soil,  wherever  we 
saw  it,  consisted  of  either  swamps  or  light  sandy  soil,  on 
which  grew  very  few  species  of  trees,  one,1  which  was  large, 
yielding  a  gum  much  like  Sanguis  draconis ;  but  every  place 
was  covered  with  vast  quantities  of  grass.  We  saw  many 
Indian  houses,  and  places  where  they  had  slept  upon  the 
grass  without  the  least  shelter.  In  these  we  left  beads, 
ribbons,  etc.  We  saw  one  quadruped  about  the  size  of  a 
rabbit.  My  greyhound  just  got  sight  of  him,  and  instantly 
lamed  himself  against  a  stump  which  lay  concealed  in  the 
long  grass.  We  saw  also  the  dung  of  a  large  animal  that 
had  fed  on  grass,  much  resembling  that  of  a  stag ;  also  the 
footprints  of  an  animal  clawed  like  a  dog  or  wolf,  and  as 
large  as  the  latter,  and  of  a  small  animal  whose  feet  were 
like  those  of  a  polecat  or  weasel.  The  trees  overhead 
abounded  very  much  with  loryquets  and  cockatoos,  of  which 
we  shot  several. 

2nd.  The  morning  was  rainy,  and  we  had  already  so 
many  plants  that  we  were  well  contented  to  find  an 
excuse  for  staying  on  board  to  examine  them  a  little.  In 
the  afternoon,  however,  it  cleared  up,  and  we  returned 
to  our  old  occupation  of  collecting,  in  which  we  had  our 
usual  good  success.  Tupia,  who  strayed  from  us  in  pursuit 
of  parrots,  of  which  he  shot  several,  told  us  on  his  return 
that  he  had  seen  nine  Indians,  who  ran  from  him  as  soon 
as  they  perceived  him. 

3rd.  Our  collection  of  plants  was  now  grown  so  im- 
mensely large  that  it  was  necessary  that  some  extraordinary 
care  should  be  taken  of  them,  lest  they  should  spoil  in  the 
books.  I  therefore  devoted  this  day  to  that  business,  and 
carried  ashore  all  the  drying  paper,  nearly  200  quires,  of 
which  the  larger  part  was  full,  and  spreading  them  upon  a 
1  A  species  of  Eucalyptus,  or  gum  tree. 


268  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

sail  in  the  sun,  kept  them  in  this  manner  exposed  the 
whole  day,  often  turning  them,  and  sometimes  turning  the 
quires  in  which  were  plants  inside  out.  By  this  means 
they  came  on  board  at  night  in  very  good  condition.  During 
this  time  eleven  canoes,  in  each  of  which  was  one  Indian, 
came  towards  us :  we  soon  saw  that  the  people  in  them 
were  employed  in  striking  fish.  They  came  within  about 
half  a  mile  of  us,  intent  upon  their  own  employments,  and 
not  at  all  regarding  us.  Opposite  the  place  where  they 
were  several  of  our  people  were  shooting :  one  Indian, 
prompted  maybe  by  curiosity,  landed,  hauled  up  his  canoe, 
and  went  towards  them.  He  stayed  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  and  then  launched  his  boat  and  went  off.  Probably 
that  time  had  been  spent  behind  the  trees  in  watching  to 
see  what  our  people  did.  I  could  not  find,  however,  that 
he  was  seen  by  anybody. 

When  the  damp  of  the  evening  made  it  necessary  to 
send  my  plants  and  books  on  board,  I  made  a  short  excur- 
sion to  shoot  anything  I  could  meet  with,  and  found  a 
large  quantity  of  quails,  much  resembling  our  English  ones, 
of  which  I  might  have  killed  as  many  almost  as  I  pleased, 
had  I  given  my  time  up  to  it ;  but  my  business  was  to  kill 
variety,  and  not  too  many  individuals  of  any  one  species. 
The  captain  and  Dr.  Solander  employed  the  day  in  going 
in  the  pinnace  into  various  parts  of  the  harbour.  They 
saw  fires  at  several  places,  and  people  who  all  ran  away 
at  their  approach  with  the  greatest  precipitation,  leaving 
behind  the  shell-fish  which  they  were  cooking.  Of  this  our 
gentlemen  took  advantage,  eating  what  they  found  and 
leaving  beads,  ribands,  etc.,  in  return.  They  found  also 
several  trees  which  bore  a  fruit  of  the  Jambosa  kind,  in 
colour  and  shape  much  resembling  cherries.  Of  these  they 
ate  plentifully,  and  brought  home  also  abundance,  which  we 
ate  with  pleasure,  though  they  had  little  to  recommend 
them  but  a  slight  acid. 

4=th.  Myself  in  the  woods,  botanising  as  usual :  now 
quite  devoid  of  fear,  as  our  neighbours  have  turned  out 
such  rank  cowards.  One  of  our  midshipmen,  straying  by 


MAY  1770  COWARDICE  OF  THE  NATIVES  269 

himself  a  long  way  from  any  one  else,  met  by  accident  with 
a  very  old  man  and  woman  and  some  children.  They  were 
sitting  under  a  tree,  and  neither  party  saw  the  other  till 
they  were  close  together.  They  showed  signs  of  fear,  but 
did  not  attempt  to  run  away.  The  midshipman  had  nothing 
about  him  to  give  them  but  some  parrots  which  he  had 
shot.  These  they  refused,  drawing  away  when  he  offered 
them,  in  token  either  of  extreme  fear  or  disgust.  The 
people  were  very  old  and  gray-headed,  the  children  young. 
The  hair  of  the  man  was  bushy  about  his  head,  and  his 
beard  long  and  rough :  the  woman's  hair  was  cropped  short 
round  her  head.  They  were  very  dark-coloured,  but  not 
black,  nor  was  their  hair  woolly. 

On  our  return  to  the  ship  we  found  also  that  our  second 
lieutenant,  who  had  gone  out  striking,  had  met  with  great 
success.  He  had  observed  that  the  large  sting-rays,  of 
which  there  are  abundance  in  the  bay,  followed  the  flowing 
tide  into  very  shallow  water ;  he  therefore  took  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  struck  several  in  not  more  than  two  or  three 
feet  of  water.  One  that  was  larger  than  the  rest  weighed, 
when  his  guts  were  taken  out,  239  Ibs. 

Our  surgeon,  who  strayed  a  long  way  from  the  others, 
with  one  man  in  his  company,  in  coming  out  of  a  thicket 
observed  six  Indians  standing  about  sixty  yards  from  him. 
One  of  these  gave  a  signal  by  a  word,  whereupon  a  lance 
was  thrown  out  of  the  wood  at  him,  which,  however,  did 
not  come  very  near  him.  The  six  Indians,  on  seeing  that 
it  had  not  taken  effect,  ran  away  in  an  instant,  but  on 
turning  about  towards  the  place  from  whence  the  lance 
came,  he  saw  a  young  lad,  who  had  undoubtedly  thrown 
it,  come  down  from  a  tree  where  he  had  been  stationed, 
probably  for  that  purpose.  He  descended,  however,  and 
ran  away  so  quickly  that  it  was  impossible  even  to  attempt 
to  pursue  him. 

6th.  Went  to  sea  this  morning  with  a  fair  breeze  of  wind. 
The  land  we  sailed  past  during  the  whole  forenoon  appeared 
broken  and  likely  for  harbours.  We  dined  to-day  upon  a 
sting-ray  weighing  336  Ibs.,  which  was  caught  yesterday, 


270  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

and  his  tripe.  The  fish  itself  was  not  quite  so  good  as  a 
skate,  nor  was  it  much  inferior.  The  tripe  everybody 
thought  excellent.  We  had  it  with  a  dish  of  the  boiled 
leaves  of  Tetragonia  cornuta,  which  eat  as  well,  or  very  nearly 
as  well,  as  spinach. 

1*7^.  About  ten  we  were  abreast  of  a  large  bay,1 
the  bottom  of  which  was  out  of  sight.  The  sea  here 
suddenly  changed  from  its  usual  transparency  to  a  dirty 
clay  colour,  appearing  much  as  if  charged  with  freshes,  from 
whence  I  was  led  to  conclude  that  the  bottom  of  the  bay 
might  open  into  a  large  river.  About  it  were  many  smokes, 
especially  on  the  northern  side  near  some  remarkable  conical 
hills.2  At  sunset  the  land  made  in  one  bank,  over  which 
nothing  could  be  seen.  It  was  very  sandy,  and  carried  with 
it  no  signs  of  fertility. 

~L8th.  Land  this  morning  very  sandy.  We  could  see 
through  our  glasses  that  the  sands,  which  lay  in  great  patches 
of  many  acres  each,  were  movable.  Some  of  them  had  been 
lately  moved,  for  trees  which  stood  up  in  the  middle  of  them 
were  quite  green.  Others  of  a  longer  standing  had  many 
stumps  sticking  out  of  them,  which  had  been  trees  killed 
by  the  sand  heaping  about  their  roots.  Few  fires  were  seen. 
Two  water  snakes  swam  by  the  ship.  They  were  beauti- 
fully spotted,  and  in  all  respects  like  land  snakes,  except 
that  they  had  broad  flat  tails,  which  probably  serve  them 
instead  of  fins  in  swimming. 

22nd.  In  the  course  of  the  night  the  tide  rose  very  con- 
siderably. We  plainly  saw  with  our  glasses  that  the  land 
was  covered  with  palm-nut  trees,  Pandanus  tectorius,  which 
we  had  not  seen  since  we  left  the  islands  within  the  tropics. 
Along  shore  we  saw  two  men  walking,  who  took  no  kind 
of  notice  of  us. 

23rd.  Wind  blew  fresh  off  the  land,  so  cold  that  our 
cloaks  were  very  necessary  in  going  ashore.  When  we  landed, 
however,  the  sun  soon  recovered  its  influence,  and  made  it 
sufficiently  hot ;  in  the  afternoon  intolerably  so.  We  landed 
near  the  mouth  of  a  large  lagoon,3  which  ran  a  good  way 

1  Moreton  Bay.  2  The  Glass  Houses.  3  Bustard  Bay. 


MAY  1770  PLANTS  AND  INSECTS  271 

into  the  country,  and  sent  out  a  strong  tide.  Here  we  found 
a  great  variety  of  plants,  several,  however,  the  same  as  those 
we  ourselves  had  before  seen  in  the  islands  between  the 
tropics,  and  others  known  to  be  natives  of  the  East  Indies, 
a  sure  mark  that  we  were  upon  the  point  of  leaving  the 
southern  temperate  zone,  and  that  for  the  future  we  must 
expect  to  meet  with  plants  some  of  which,  at  least,  had 
been  before  seen  by  Europeans.  The  soil  in  general  was 
very  sandy  and  dry ;  though  it  produced  a  large  variety  of 
plants,  yet  it  was  never  covered  with  a  thick  verdure.  Fresh 
water  we  saw  none,  but  several  swamps  and  bogs  of  salt 
water.  In  these,  and  upon  the  sides  of  the  lagoons,  grew 
many  mangrove  trees,  in  the  branches  of  which  were  many 
nests  of  ants,  of  which  one  sort  were  quite  green.  These, 
when  the  branches  were  disturbed,  came  out  in  large  numbers, 
and  revenged  themselves  very  sufficiently  upon  their  dis- 
turbers, biting  more  sharply  than  any  I  have  felt  in  Europe. 
The  mangroves  had  also  another  trap  which  most  of  us  fell 
into.  This  was  a  small  kind  of  caterpillar,  green  and  beset 
with  many  hairs,  numbers  of  which  sat  together  upon  the 
leaves,  ranged  by  the  side  of  each  other,  like  soldiers  drawn  up; 
twenty  or  thirty,  perhaps,  on  one  leaf.  If  these  wrathful 
militia  were  touched  ever  so  gently,  they  did  not  fail  to 
make  the  person  offending  sensible  of  their  anger,  every 
hair  in  them  stinging  much  as  nettles  do,  but  with  a  more 
acute,  though  less  lasting,  smart. 

Upon  the  sides  of  the  hills  were  many  of  the  trees  yield- 
ing a  gum  like  Sanguis  draconis.1  They  differed,  however, 
from  those  seen  on  the  1st  of  May,  in  having  their  leaves 
longer,  and  hanging  down  like  those  of  the  weeping  willow. 
Notwithstanding  that,  I  believe  that  they  were  of  the  same 
species.  There  was,  however,  much  less  gum  upon  them. 
Only  one  tree  that  I  saw  had  any,  contrary  to  all  theory 
which  teaches  that  the  hotter  a  climate  is  the  more  gums 
exude.  The  same  observation,  however,  held  good  in  the 
plant  yielding  the  yellow  gum,2  of  which,  though  we  saw 
vast  numbers,  we  did  not  see  any  that  showed  signs  of  gum 

1  Eucalypti.  z  Xanthorrhcea :  it  has  not  been  mentioned  before. 


272  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

On  the  shoals  and  sandbanks  near  the  shore  of  the  bay 
were  many  large  birds,  far  larger  than  swans,  which  we 
judged  to  be  pelicans ;  but  they  were  so  shy  that  we  could 
not  get  within  gun-shot  of  them.  On  the  shore  were  many 
birds ;  one  species  of  bustard,  of  which  we  shot  a  single  bird, 
was  as  large  as  a  good  turkey.  The  sea  seemed  to  abound  in 
fish,  but  unfortunately,  at  the  first  haul,  we  tore  our  seine  to 
pieces.  On  the  mud-banks,  under  the  mangrove  trees,  were 
innumerable  oysters,  hammer-oysters,  and  many  more  sorts, 
among  which  were  a  large  proportion  of  small  pearl-oysters. 
Whether  the  sea  in  deeper  water  might  abound  with  as 
great  a  proportion  of  full-grown  ones,  we  had  not  an 
opportunity  to  examine ;  but  if  it  did,  ^a  pearl  fishery  here 
must  turn  out  to  immense  advantage. 

24:th.  At  daybreak  we  went  to  sea.  At  dinner  we  ate 
the  bustard  we  shot  yesterday.  It  turned  out  an  excellent 
bird,  far  the  best,  we  all  agreed,  that  we  had  eaten  since  we 
left  England ;  and  as  it  weighed  fifteen  pounds,  our  dinner 
was  not  only  good  but  plentiful. 

26th.  We  tried  in  the  cabin  to  fish  with  hook  and  line, 
but  the  water  was  too  shoal  (three  fathoms)  for  any  fish. 
This  want  was,  however,  in  some  degree  supplied  by  crabs,  of 
which  vast  numbers  were  on  the  ground,  who  readily  took 
our  baits,  and  sometimes  held  them  so  fast  with  their  claws, 
that  they  suffered  themselves  to  be  hauled  into  the  ship. 
They  were  of  two  sorts,  Cancer  pelagicus,  Linn.,  and  another 
much  like  the  former,  but  not  so  beautiful.  The  first  was 
ornamented  with  the  finest  ultramarine  blue  conceivable, 
with  which  all  his  claws,  and  every  joint,  were  deeply  tinged. 
The  under  part  was  of  a  lovely  white,  shining  as  if  glazed,  and 
perfectly  resembling  the  white  of  old  china.  The  other 
had  a  little  of  the  ultramarine  on  his  joints  and  toes, 
and  on  his  back  three  very  remarkable  brown  spots. 

In  examining  a  fig  which  we  had  found  at  our  last 
going  ashore,  we  found  in  the  fruit  a  Cynips,  very  like, 
if  not  exactly  the  same  species  as  Cynips  sycomori,  Linn., 
described  by  Hasselquist  in  his  Iter  Palestinum,  a  strong 
proof  of  the  fact  that  figs  must  be  impregnated  by  means 


MAY  1770  PLANTS  AND  INSECTS  273 

of  insects,  though  indeed  that  fact  wanted  not  any  additional 
proofs. 

29th.  We  went  ashore  and  found  several  plants  which 
we  had  not  before  seen ;  among  them,  however,  were  still 
more  East  Indian  plants  than  in  the  last  harbour ;  one  kind 
of  grass  which  we  had  also  seen  there  was  very  troublesome 
to  us.  Its  sharp  seeds  were  bearded  backwards,  and  when- 
ever they  stuck  into  our  clothes  were  by  these  beards  pushed 
forward  till  they  got  into  the  flesh.  This  grass  was  so 
plentiful  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  avoid  it,  and,  with 
the  mosquitos  that  were  likewise  innumerable,  made  walking 
almost  intolerable.  We  were  not,  however,  to  be  repulsed, 
but  proceeded  into  the  country.  The  gum-trees  were  like 
those  in  the  last  bay,  both  in  leaf  and  in  producing  a  very 
small  proportion  of  gum;  on  the  branches  of  them  and 
other  trees  were  large  ants'  nests,  made  of  clay,  as  big  as  a 
bushel,  something  like  those  described  in  Sir  Hans  Sloane's 
History  of  Jamaica,  vol.  ii.  pp.  221  to  258,  but  not  so  smooth. 
The  ants  also  were  small,  and  had  white  abdomens.  In 
another  species  of  tree,  Xanthoxyloides  mite,  a  small  sort  of 
black  ant  had  bored  all  the  twigs,  and  lived  in  quantities 
in  the  hollow  part  where  the  pith  should  be ;  the  tree 
nevertheless  flourishing  and  bearing  leaves  and  flowers  upon 
those  very  branches  as  freely  and  well  as  upon  others  that 
were  sound.  Insects  in  general  were  plentiful,  butterflies 
especially.  With  one  sort  of  these,  much  like  P.  Semele,  Linn., 
the  air  was  for  the  space  of  three  or  four  acres  crowded  to 
a  wonderful  degree ;  the  eye  could  not  be  turned  in  any 
direction  without  seeing  millions,  and  yet  every  branch  and 
twig  was  almost  covered  with  those  that  sat  still.  Of  these 
we  took  as  many  as  we  chose,  knocking  them  down  with 
our  caps,  or  anything  that  came  to  hand.  On  the  leaves 
of  the  gum-tree  we  found  a  pupa  or  chrysalis,  which  shone 
as  brightly  as  if  it  had  been  silvered  over  with  the  most 
burnished  silver,  which  it  perfectly  resembled.  It  was 
brought  on  board,  and  the  next  day  came  out  into  a 
butterfly  of  a  velvet  black  changeable  to  blue ;  the  wings, 
both  upper  and  under,  were  marked  near  the  edges  with 

T 


274  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

many  brimstone -coloured  spots,  those  of  his  under  wings 
being  indented  deeply  at  each  end. 

We  saw  no  fresh  water,  but  several  swamps  of  salt 
overgrown  with  mangroves ;  in  these  we  found  some  species 
of  shells,  among  them  Trochus  perspective,  Linn.  Here  also 
was  a  very  singular  phenomenon  in  a  small  fish  of  which 
there  were  great  abundance.  It  was  about  the  size  of  an 
English  minnow,  and  had  two  very  strong  breast  fins ;  we 
often  found  it  in  quite  dry  places,  where  maybe  it  had  been 
left  by  the  tide.  Upon  seeing  us  it  immediately  fled  from 
us,  leaping  as  nimbly  as  a  frog  by  means  of  the  breast  fins; 
nor  did  it  seem  to  prefer  water  to  land,  for  if  seen  in  the 
water  he  often  leaped  out  and  proceeded  on  dry  land,  and 
when  the  water  was  filled  with  small  stones  standing  above 
its  surface,  would  leap  from  stone  to  stone  rather  than  go 
into  the  water.  In  this  manner  I  observed  several  pass 
over  puddles  of  water  and  proceed  on  the  other  side  leaping 
as  before. 

In  the  afternoon  we  went  to  the  other  side  of  the  bay ;  if 
anything,  the  soil  was  rather  better.  In  neither  morning 
nor  evening  were  there  any  traces  of  inhabitants  ever  having 
been  where  we  were,  except  that  here  and  there  trees  had 
been  burnt  down. 

8th  June.  We  passed  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  a 
small  islet  or  rock,  on  which  we  saw  with  our  glasses  about 
thirty  men,  women,  and  children  standing  all  together,  and 
looking  attentively  at  us  ;  the  first  people  we  have  seen  show 
any  signs  of  curiosity  at  the  sight  of  the  ship. 

10th.  Just  without  us  as  we  lay  at  anchor  was  a  small 
sandy  island  lying  upon  a  large  coral  shoal  much  resembling 
the  low  islands  to  the  eastward  of  us,  but  the  first  of  the 
kind  we  had  met  with  in  this  part  of  the  South  Sea.  Early 
in  the  morning  we  weighed  and  sailed  as  usual  with  a  fine 
breeze  along  shore.  While  we  were  at  supper  she  went  over 
a  bank  of  seven  or  eight  fathoms  of  water,  which  she  came 
upon  very  suddenly ;  this  we  concluded  to  be  the  tail  of  the 
shoals  we  had  seen  at  sunset,  and  therefore  went  to  bed  in 
perfect  security;  but  scarcely  were  we  warm  in  our  beds 


JUNE  1770  SHIP  STRIKES  ON  A  ROCK  275 

when  we  were  called  up  with  the  alarming  news  of  the 
ship  being  fast  upon  a  rock,  of  which  she  in  a  few  moments 
convinced  us  by  beating  very  violently  against  it.  Our 
situation  became  now  greatly  alarming;  we  had  stood  off 
shore  three  hours  and  a  half  with  a  pleasant  breeze,  so  knew 
we  could  not  be  very  near  it.  We  were  little  less  than 
certain  that  we  were  upon  sunken  coral  rocks,  the  most 
dreadful  of  all,  on  account  of  their  sharp  points  and 
grinding  quality,  which  cut  through  a  ship's  bottom  almost 
immediately.  The  officers,  however,  behaved  with  inimitable 
coolness,  free  from  all  hurry  and  confusion.  A  boat  was  got 
out  in  which  the  master  went,  and  after  sounding  round  the 
ship  found  that  she  had  run  over  a  rock,  and  consequently 
had  shoal  water  all  round  her.  All  this  time  she  continued 
to  beat  very  much,  so  that  we  could  hardly  keep  our  legs 
upon  the  quarter-deck.  By  the  light  of  the  moon  we  could 
see  her  sheathing-boards,  etc.,  floating  thickly  around  her, 
and  about  twelve  her  false  keel  came  away. 

llth.  In  the  meanwhile  all  kind  of  preparations  were 
making  for  carrying  out  anchors,  but  by  reason  of  the  time  it 
took  to  hoist  out  boats,  etc.,  the  tide  ebbed  so  much  that  we 
found  it  impossible  to  attempt  to  get  her  off  till  next  high  water, 
if  she  would  hold  together  so  long.  We  now  found  to  add 
to  our  misfortune  that  we  had  got  ashore  nearly  at  the  top 
of  high  water ;  and  as  night  tides  generally  rise  higher  than 
the  day  ones  we  had  little  hopes  of  getting  off  even  then. 
For  our  comfort,  however,  the  ship  as  the  tide  ebbed  settled 
to  the  rocks,  and  did  not  beat  nearly  so  much  as  she  had 
done.  A  rock,  however,  under  her  starboard  bow  kept 
grating  her  bottom,  making  a  noise  very  plainly  to  be  heard 
in  the  fore  store-rooms ;  this  we  doubted  not  would  make 
a  hole ;  we  only  hoped  that  it  might  not  let  in  more  water 
than  we  could  clear  with  our  pumps. 

In  this  situation  day  broke  upon  us  and  showed  us  the 
land  about  eight  leagues  off,  as  we  judged ;  nearer  than  that 
was  no  island  or  place  where  we  could  set  foot.  Day,  how- 
ever, brought  with  it  a  decrease  of  wind,  and  soon  after  that 
a  flat  calm,  the  most  fortunate  circumstance  that  could 


276  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

possibly  attend  people  in  our  circumstances.  The  tide  we 
found  had  fallen  two  feet  and  still  continued  to  fall ;  anchors 
were,  however,  got  out  and  laid  ready  for  heaving  as  soon 
as  the  tide  should  rise,  but  to  our  great  surprise  we  could 
not  observe  it  to  rise  in  the  least. 

Orders  were  now  given  for  lightening  the  ship,  which 
was  begun  by  starting  our  water  and  pumping  it  up ;  the 
ballast  was  then  got  up  and  thrown  overboard  as  well  as 
six  of  our  guns  (all  that  we  had  upon  deck).  The  seamen 
worked  with  surprising  cheerfulness  and  alacrity :  no 
grumbling  or  growling  was  to  be  heard  throughout  the 
ship,  not  even  an  oath  (though  the  ship  was  in  general  as 
well  furnished  with  them  as  most  in  His  Majesty's  service). 
By  about  one  o'clock  the  water  had  fallen  so  low  that  the 
pinnace  touched  ground  as  it  lay  under  the  ship's  bows  ready 
to  take  in  an  anchor.  After  this  the  tide  began  to  rise,  and 
as  it  rose  the  ship  worked  violently  upon  the  rocks,  so  that 
by  two  she  began  to  make  water,  which  increased  very  fast. 
At  night  the  tide  almost  floated  her,  but  she  made  water  so 
fast  that  three  pumps  hard  worked  could  only  just  keep  her 
clear,  and  the  fourth  absolutely  refused  to  deliver  a  drop  of 
water.  Now,  in  my  opinion,  I  entirely  gave  up  the  ship, 
and  packing  up  what  I  thought  I  might  save  prepared 
myself  for  the  worst. 

The  most  critical  part  of  our  distress  now  approached ; 
the  ship  was  almost  afloat  and  everything  ready  to  get  her 
into  deep  water,  but  she  leaked  so  fast  that  with  all  our 
pumps  we  could  only  just  keep  her  free.  If  (as  was  probable) 
she  should  make  more  water  when  hauled  off  she  must  sink, 
and  we  well  knew  that  our  boats  were  not  capable  of  carry- 
ing us  all  ashore,  so  that  some,  probably  most  of  us,  must  be 
drowned.  A  better  fate,  maybe,  than  those  would  have  who 
should  get  ashore  without  arms  to  defend  themselves  from 
the  Indians  or  provide  themselves  with  food,  in  a  country 
where  we  had  not  the  least  reason  to  hope  for  subsistence, 
so  barren  had  we  always  found  it,  and,  had  they  even  met 
with  good  usage  from  the  natives  and  food  to  support  them, 
debarred  from  the  hope  of  ever  again  seeing  their  native 


JUNE  1770  FOTHERING  THE  SHIP  277 

country  or  conversing  with  any  but  savages,  perhaps  the  most 
uncivilised  in  the  world. 

The  dreadful  time  now  approached,  and  the  anxiety  in 
everybody's  countenance  was  visible  enough.  The  capstan 
and  windlass  were  manned,  and  they  began  to  heave ;  the 
fear  of  death  now  stared  us  in  the  face ;  hopes  we  had  none 
but  of  being  able  to  keep  the  ship  afloat  till  we  could  run 
her  ashore  on  some  part  of  the  main  where  out  of  her 
materials  we  might  build  a  vessel  large  enough  to  carry  us 
to  the  East  Indies.  At  ten  o'clock  she  floated,  and  was  in  a 
few  minutes  hauled  into  deep  water,  where  to  our  great  satis- 
faction she  made  no  more  water  than  she  had  done,  which 
was  indeed  full  as  much  as  we  could  manage,  though  there 
was  no  one  in  the  ship  but  who  willingly  exerted  his  utmost 
strength. 

The  people  who  had  been  twenty -four  hours  at  exceedingly 
hard  work  now  began  to  flag ;  I  myself,  unused  to  labour, 
was  much  fatigued,  and  had  lain  down  to  take  a  little  rest 
when  I  was  awakened  about  twelve  with  the  alarming  news 
of  the  water  having  gained  so  much  upon  the  pumps  that 
the  ship  had  four  feet  of  water  in  her  hold.  Add  to  this 
that  a  regular  land  breeze  blew  off  the  coast,  so  that  all 
hopes  of  running  her  ashore  were  totally  cut  off.  This, 
however,  acted  upon  every  one  like  a  charm :  rest  was  no 
more  thought  of,  but  the  pumps  went  with  unwearied  vigour 
till  the  water  was  all  out,  which  was  done  in  a  much  shorter 
time  than  was  expected ;  and  upon  examination  it  was 
found  that  she  never  had  half  so  much  water  in  her  as  was 
thought,  the  carpenter  having  made  a  mistake  in  sounding 
the  pumps. 

We  now  began  to  have  some  hopes,  and  talked  of  getting 
the  ship  into  some  harbour  when  we  could  spare  hands  from 
the  pumps  to  get  up  our  anchors ;  one  bower,  however,  we 
cut  away,  but  got  up  the  other  and  three  small  anchors,  far 
more  valuable  to  us  than  the  bowers,  as  we  were  obliged  im- 
mediately to  warp  her  to  windward  that  we  might  take 
advantage  of  the  sea  breeze  to  run  in-shore. 

One  of  our  midshipmen  now  proposed  an  expedient  which 


278  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

no  one  else  in  the  ship  had  seen  practised,  though  all  had 
heard  of  it  by  the  name  of  fothering  a  ship,  by  means  of 
which  he  said  he  had  come  home  from  America  in  a  ship 
which  made  more  water  than  we  did.  Nay,  so  sure  was  the 
master  of  that  ship  of  his  expedient  that  he  took  her  out  of 
harbour  knowing  how  much  water  she  had  made,  and  trusting 
entirely  to  it.  The  midshipman  immediately  set  to  work 
with  four  or  five  assistants  to  prepare  his  fother,  which  he 
did  thus.  He  took  a  lower  studding  sail,  and  having  mixed 
together  a  large  quantity  of  finely  chopped  oakum  and  wool, 
he  stitched  it  down  upon  the  sail  as  loosely  as  possible  in 
small  bundles  about  as  big  as  his  fist ;  these  were  ranged  in 
rows  four  or  five  inches  from  each  other.  This  was  to  be  sunk 
under  the  ship.  The  theory  of  it  was  that  wherever  the 
leak  was  there  must  be  a  great  suction  which  would  probably 
catch  hold  of  one  or  other  of  these  lumps  of  oakum  and  wool 
and,  drawing  it  in,  either  partly  or  entirely  stop  up  the  hole. 
While  this  work  was  going  on  the  water  rather  gained  on 
those  who  were  pumping,  which  made  all  hands  impatient 
for  the  trial.  In  the  afternoon  the  ship  was  got  under  way 
with  a  gentle  breeze  of  wind,  and  stood  in  for  the  land. 
Soon  after  the  fother  was  finished,  and  applied  by  fastening 
ropes  to  each  corner,  then  sinking  the  sail  under  the  ship, 
and  with  these  ropes  drawing  it  as  far  backwards  as  we  could. 
In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  to  our  great  surprise,  the  ship 
was  pumped  dry,  and  upon  letting  the  pumps  stand  she  was 
found  to  make  very  little  water,  so  much  beyond  our  most 
sanguine  expectations  had  this  singular  expedient  succeeded. 
At  night  we  came  to  an  anchor,  the  fother  still  keeping  her 
almost  clear,  so  that  we  were  in  an  instant  raised  from  almost 
despondency  to  the  greatest  hopes.  We  were  now  almost 
too  sanguine,  talking  of  nothing  but  of  getting  her  into  some 
harbour  where  we  might  lay  her  ashore  and  repair  her,  or 
if  we  could  not  find  such  a  place  we  little  doubted  of  being 
able  by  repeated  fotherings  to  carry  her  quite  to  the  East 
Indies. 

During  the  whole  time  of  this  distress,  I  must  say  for 
the  credit  of  our  people  that  I  believe  every  man  exerted  his 


JUNE  1770     SHIP  AFLOAT— ENDEAVOUR  RIVER  279 

utmost  for  the  preservation  of  the  ship,  contrary  to  what  I 
have  universally  heard  to  be  the  behaviour  of  seamen,  who 
commonly,  as  soon  as  a  ship  is  in  a  desperate  situation, 
begin  to  plunder  and  refuse  all  command.  This  was  no 
doubt  owing  to  the  cool  and  steady  conduct  of  the  officers, 
who,  during  the  whole  time,  never  gave  an  order  which  did 
not  show  them  to  be  perfectly  composed  and  unmoved  by  the 
circumstances,  however  dreadful  they  might  appear. 

14:th.  The  captain  and  I  went  ashore  to  view  a  harbour, 
and  found  it  indeed  beyond  our  most  sanguine  wishes.  It 
was  the  mouth  of  a  river,1  the  entrance  of  which  was,  to  be 
sure,  narrow  enough  and  shallow,  but  when  once  in,  the 
ship  might  be  moved  afloat  so  near  the  shore,  that  by  a 
stage  from  her  to  it  all  her  cargo  might  be  got  out  and  in 
again  in  a  very  short  time.  In  this  same  place  she  might 
be  hove  down  with  all  ease,  but  the  beach  showed  signs  of 
the  tides  rising  in  the  springs  six  or  seven  feet,  which  was 
more  than  enough  to  do  our  business  without  that  trouble. 

1 6th.  Tupia  had  for  the  last  few  days  bad  gums,  which 
were  very  soon  followed  by  livid  spots  on  his  legs  and  every 
symptom  of  inveterate  scurvy.  Notwithstanding  acid,  bark, 
and  every  medicine  our  surgeon  could  give  him,  he  became 
now  extremely  ill.  Mr.  Green,  the  astronomer,  was  also  in 
a  very  poor  way,  which  made  everybody  in  the  cabin  very 
desirous  of  getting  ashore,  and  impatient  at  our  tedious 
delays. 

1*7  th.  Weather  a  little  less  rough  than  it  had  been  the 
last  few  days ;  weighed  and  brought  the  ship  in,  but  in 
doing  so  ran  her  ashore  twice  by  the  narrowness  of  the 
channel ;  the  second  time  she  remained  till  the  tide  lifted 
her  off.  In  the  meantime  Dr.  Solander  and  I  began  our 
plant -gathering.  In  the  evening  the  ship  was  moored 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  shore,  afloat,  and  before  night 
much  lumber  was  got  out  of  her. 

18^.  A  stage  built  from  the  ship  much  facilitated  our 
undertakings.  In  walking  about  the  country  I  saw  the  old 
frames  of  Indian  houses,  and  places  where  they  had  dressed 

1  Endeavour  River. 


28o  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xi 

shell-fish  in  the  same  manner  as  the  islanders,  but  no  signs 
that  they  had  been  at  the  place  for  six  months  at  least. 
The  country  in  general  was  sandy  between  the  hills,  and 
barren,  which  made  walking  very  easy.  Mosquitos  there 
were  but  few,  a  piece  of  good  fortune  in  a  place  where  we 
were  likely  to  remain  some  time.  Tupia,  who  had  employed 
himself  since  we  were  here  in  angling,  and  had  lived  entirely 
on  what  he  caught,  was  surprisingly  recovered ;  poor  Mr. 
Green  still  very  ill.  Weather  blowing  hard  with  showers  ; 
had  we  not  got  in  yesterday  we  certainly  could  not  have 
done  so  to-day. 


CHAPTEE   XII 

AUSTRALIA  (ENDEAVOUR  RIVER)  TO  TORRES  STRAITS 
JUNE  20 — AUGUST  26,  1770 

Pumice-stone — Ship  laid  ashore — Kangooroos  seen — White  ants — Preserving 
plants — Chama  gigas — Fruits  thrown  up  on  the  beach — Excursion 
up  the  country — Making  friends  with  the  Indians — A  kangooroo  killed — 
Turtle — Indians  attempt  to  steal  turtle  and  fire  the  grass — Didelphis — 
Among  the  shoals  and  islands — Lizard  Island — Signs  of  natives  cross- 
ing from  the  mainland — Ship  passes  through  Cook's  passage — Outside 
the  grand  reef — Ship  almost  driven  on  to  the  reef  by  the  tides — Passes 
inside  the  reef  again — Corals — Straits  between  Australia  and  New  Guinea. 

June  20th.  Observed  that  in  many  parts  of  the  inlet,  a  good 
way  above  the  high-water  mark,  were  large  quantities  of 
pumice-stones  probably  carried  there  by  freshes  or  extra- 
ordinarily high  tides,  as  they  certainly  came  from  the 
sea.  Before  night  the  ship  was  lightened,  and  we  observed 
with  great  pleasure  that  the  springs,  which  were  now 
beginning  to  lift,  rose  as  high  as  we  could  wish. 

21st.  Fine  clear  weather;  began  to-day  to  lay  plants  in 
sand.1  By  night  the  ship  was  quite  clear,  and  in  the  night's 
tide  (which  we  had  constantly  observed  to  be  much  higher 
than  the  day's)  we  hauled  her  ashore. 

22ra2.  In  the  morning  I  saw  her  leak,  which  was  very 
large :  in  the  middle  was  a  hole  large  enough  to  have  sunk 
a  ship  with  twice  our  pumps,  but  here  Providence  had  most 
visibly  worked  in  our  favour,  for  it  was  in  a  great  measure 
plugged  up  by  a  stone  as  big  as  a  man's  fist.  Bound  the 
edges  of  this  stone  had  all  the  water  come  in,  which  had  so 

1  A  mode  of  preserving  for  herbarium  purposes. 


282  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xn 

nearly  overcome  us,  and  here  we  found  the  wool  and  oakum, 
or  fothering,  which  had  relieved  us  in  so  unexpected  a 
manner. 

The  effect  of  this  coral  rock  upon  her  bottom  is  difficult 
to  describe,  but  more  to  believe ;  it  had  cut  through  her 
plank  and  deep  into  one  of  her  timbers,  smoothing  the 
gashes  still  before  it,  so  that  the  whole  might  easily  be 
imagined  to  have  been  cut  with  an  axe.1 

Myself  employed  all  .day  in  laying  in  plants;  the 
people  who  were  sent  to  the  other  side  of  the  water  to 
shoot  pigeons,  saw  an  animal  as  large  as  a  greyhound,  of  a 
mouse  colour,  and  very  swift  ;2  they  also  saw  many  Indian 
houses,  and  a  brook  of  fresh  water. 

24=th.  Gathering  plants,  and  hearing  descriptions  of  the 
animal,  which  is  now  seen  by  everybody.  A  seaman  who 
had  been  out  in  the  woods  brought  home  the  description  of 
an  animal  he  had  seen,  composed  in  so  seamanlike  a  style 
that  I  cannot  help  mentioning  it ;  "  it  was  (says  he)  about 
as  large  and  much  like  a  one-gallon  cagg,  as  black  as  the 
devil,  and  had  two  horns  on  its  head ;  it  went  but  slowly, 
but  I  dared  not  touch  it." 

25th.  In  gathering  plants  to-day  I  had  the  good  fortune 
to  see  the  beast  so  much  talked  of,  though  but  imperfectly ; 
he  was  not  only  like  a  greyhound  in  size  and  running,  but 
had  a  tail  as  long  as  any  greyhound's;  what  to  liken 
him  to  I  could  not  tell,  nothing  that  I  have  seen  at  all 
resembles  him. 

26th.  Since  the  ship  has  been  hauled  ashore,  the  water 
has,  of  course,  all  gone  backwards;  and  my  plants,  which 
for  safety  had  been  stowed  in  the  bread  room,  were  this  day 
found  under  water.  Nobody  had  warned  me  of  this  danger, 
which  never  once  entered  my  head.  The  mischief,  however, 
was  now  done,  so  I  set  to  work  to  remedy  it  to  the  best  of 
my  power.  The  day  was  scarcely  long  enough  to  get  them 

1  ' '  The  manner  these  planks  were  damaged — or  cut  out,  as  I  may  say — is 
hardly  credible  ;  scarce  a  Splinter  was  to  be  seen,  but  the  whole  was  cut  away 
as  if  it  had  been  done  by  the  Hands  of  Man  with  a  blunt -edge  Tool."- 
Wharton's  Cook,  p.  280.  2  A  kangaroo. 


JULY  1770  ANT-HILLS— DRYING  PLANTS  283 

all  shifted,  etc. ;  many  were  saved,  but  some  were  entirely 
spoiled. 

28tk.  We  have  ever  since  we  have  been  here  observed 
the  nests  of  a  kind  of  ant,  much  like  the  white  ant  in  the 
East  Indies,  but  to  us  perfectly  harmless  :  they  were  always 
pyramidal,  from  a  few  inches  to  six  feet  in  height,  and  very 
much  resembled  the  Druidical  monuments  which  I  have  seen 
in  England.  To-day  we  met  with  a  large  number  of  them  of 
all  sizes  ranged  in  a  small  open  place,  which  had  a  very 
pretty  effect.  Dr.  Solander  compared  them  to  the  runic 
stones  on  the  plains  of  Upsala  in  Sweden ;  myself  to  all  the 
smaller  Druidical  monuments  I  had  seen. 

1st  July.  Our  second  lieutenant  found  the  husk  of  a 
cocoanut  full  of  barnacles  cast  up  on  the  beach;1  it  had 
probably  come  from  some  island  to  windward. 

2nd.  The  wild  plantain  trees,  though  their  fruit  does  not 
serve  for  food,  are  to  us  of  a  most  material  benefit.  We 
made  baskets  of  their  stalks  (a  thing  we  had  learned  from 
the  islanders),  in  which  our  plants,  which  would  not  other- 
wise keep,  have  remained  fresh  for  two  or  three  days ; 
indeed,  in  a  hot  climate  it  is  hardly  practicable  to  manage 
without  such  baskets,  which  we  call  by  the  island  name  of 
papa  mija.  Our  plants  dry  better  in  paper  books  than  in 
sand,  with  the  precaution  that  one  person  is  entirely  em- 
ployed in  attending  them.  He  shifts  them  all  once  a  day, 
exposes  the  quires  in  which  they  are  to  the  greatest  heat  of 
the  sun,  and  at  night  covers  them  most  carefully  up  from 
any  damp,  always  being  careful,  also,  not  to  bring  them  out 
too  soon  in  the  morning,  or  leave  them  out  too  late  in  the 
evening. 

3rd.  The  pinnace,  which  had  been  sent  out  yesterday  in 
search  of  a  passage,  returned  to-day,  having  found  a  way  by 
which  she  passed  most  of  the  shoals  that  we  could  see,  but 
not  all.  This  passage  was  also  to  windward  of  us,  so  that 
we  could  only  hope  to  get  there  by  the  assistance  of  a  land 
breeze,  of  which  we  have  had  but  one  since  we  lay  in  the 

1  The  absence  of  the  cocoanut  palm  on  the  Australian  coasts  is  one  of  the 
most  singular  facts  in  botanical  geography. 


284  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xn 

place;  so  this  discovery  added  but  little  comfort  to  our 
situation.  The  crew  of  the  pinnace  had,  on  their  return, 
landed  on  a  dry  reef,  where  they  found  great  plenty  of  shell- 
fish, so  that  the  boat  was  completely  loaded,  chiefly  with  a 
large  kind  of  cockle  (Chama  gigas),  one  of  which  was  more 
than  two  men  could  eat ;  many,  indeed,  were  larger.  The 
coxswain  of  the  boat,  a  little  man,  declared  that  he  saw  on 
the  reef  a  dead  shell  of  one  so  large  that  he  got  into  it,  and 
it  fairly  held  him.  At  night  the  ship  floated  and  was  hauled 
off.  An  alligator  was  seen  swimming  alongside  of  her  for 
some  tune.  As  I  was  crossing  the  harbour  in  my  small 
boat,  we  saw  many  shoals  of  garfish  leaping  high  out  of  the 
water,  some  of  which  leaped  into  the  boat  and  were  taken. 

5th.  Went  to  the  other  side  of  the  harbour,  and  walked 
along  a  sandy  beach  open  to  the  trade-wind.  Here  I  found 
innumerable  fruits,  many  of  plants  I  had  not  seen  in  this 
country.  Among  them  were  some  cocoanuts  that  had  been 
opened  (as  Tupia  told  us)  by  a  kind  of  crab  called  by  the 
Dutch  Boers  krabba  (Cancer  latro)  that  feeds  upon  them. 
All  these  fruits  were  incrusted  with  sea  productions,  and 
many  of  them  covered  with  barnacles,  a  sure  sign  that  they 
have  come  far  by  sea,  and  as  the  trade-wind  blows  almost 
right  on  shore  must  have  come  from  some  other  country, 
probably  that  discovered  by  Quiros,  and  called  Terra  del 
Espiritu  Santo  [New  Hebrides],  as  the  latitudes  according  to 
his  account  agree  pretty  well  with  ours  here. 

6th.  Set  out  to-day  with  the  second  lieutenant,  resolved 
to  go  a  good  way  up  the  river,  and  see  if  the  country  inland 
differed  from  that  near  the  shore.  We  went  for  about  three 
leagues  among  mangroves :  then  we  got  into  the  country, 
which  differed  very  little  from  what  we  had  already  seen. 
The  river  higher  up  contracted  much,  and  lost  most  of  its 
mangroves :  the  banks  were  steep  and  covered  with  trees  of 
a  beautiful  verdure,  particularly  what  is  called  in  the  West 
Indies  mohoe  or  bark-tree  (Hibiscus  tiliaceus).  The  land  was 
generally  low,  thickly  covered  with  long  grass,  and  seemed 
to  promise  great  fertility,  were  the  people  to  plant  and 
improve  it.  In  the  course  of  the  day  Tupia  saw  a  wolf,  so 


JULY  1770  KANGOOROOS— MOSQUITOS  285 

at  least  I  guess  by  his  description,  and  we  saw  three  of  the 
animals  of  the  country,  but  could  not  get  one ;  also  a  kind 
of  bat  as  large  as  a  partridge,  but  these  also  we  were  not 
lucky  enough  to  get.  At  night  we  took  up  our  lodgings 
close  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  made  a  fire ;  but  the 
mosquitos,  whose  peaceful  dominions  it  seems  we  had  invaded, 
spared  no  pains  to  molest  us  as  much  as  was  in  their  power : 
they  followed  us  into  the  very  smoke,  nay,  almost  into  the 
fire,  which,  hot  as  the  climate  was,  we  could  better  bear  the 
heat  of  than  their  intolerable  stings.  Between  the  hardness 
of  our  bed,  the  heat  of  the  fire,  and  the  stings  of  these  inde- 
fatigable insects,  the  night  was  not  spent  so  agreeably  but 
day  was  earnestly  wished  for  by  all  of  us. 

*lik.  At  last  it  came,  and  with  its  first  dawn  we  set  out 
in  search  of  game.  We  walked  many  miles  over  the  flats 
and  saw  four  of  the  animals,  two  of  which  my  greyhound 
fairly  chased ;  but  they  beat  him  owing  to  the  length  and 
thickness  of  the  grass,  which  prevented  him  from  running, 
while  they  at  every  bound  leaped  over  the  tops  of  it.  We 
observed,  much  to  our  surprise,  that  instead  of  going  upon 
all  fours,  this  animal  went  only  upon  two  legs,  making  vast 
bounds  just  as  the  jerboa  (Mus  jaculus :)  does. 

We  observed  a  smoke,  but  when  we  came  to  the  place  the 
people  were  gone.  The  fire  was  in  an  old  tree  of  touchwood. 
Their  houses  were  there,  and  branches  of  trees  broken  down, 
with  which  the  children  had  been  playing,  were  not  yet 
withered ;  their  footsteps,  also,  on  the  sands  below  high-water 
mark  proved  that  they  had  very  lately  been  there.  Near  their 
oven,  in  which  victuals  had  been  dressed  since  noon,  were  the 
shells  of  a  kind  of  clam,  and  the  roots  of  a  wild  yam  which 
had  been  cooked  in  it.  Thus  were  we  disappointed  of  the 
only  good  chance  we  have  had  of  seeing  the  people  since  we 
came  here,  by  their  unaccountable  timidity.  Mght  soon 
coming  on,  we  repaired  to  our  quarters,  which  were  upon  a 
broad  sand-bank  under  the  shade  of  a  bush,  where  we  hoped 
the  mosquitos  would  not  trouble  us.  Our  beds  of  plantain 
leaves  spread  on  the  sand,  as  soft  as  a  mattress,  our  cloaks 

1  Dipus  jaculus. 


286  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xn 

for  bed-clothes,  and  grass  pillows,  but  above  all  the  entire 
absence  of  mosquitos,  made  me  and,  I  believe,  all  of  us  sleep 
almost  without  intermission.  Had  the  Indians  come  they 
would  certainly  have  caught  us  all  napping ;  but  that  was 
the  last  thing  we  thought  of. 

8th.  The  tide  serving  at  daylight,  we  set  out  for  the  ship. 
On  our  passage  down  we  met  several  flocks  of  whistling 
ducks,  of  which  we  shot  some.  We  saw  also  an  alligator 
about  seven  feet  long  come  out  of  the  mangroves  and  crawl 
into  the  water.  By  four  o'clock  we  arrived  at  the  ship. 

~LQtk.  Four  Indians  appeared  on  the  opposite  shore; 
they  had  with  them  a  canoe  made  of  wood  with  an  out- 
rigger, in  which  two  of  them  embarked,  and  came  towards 
the  ship,  but  stopped  at  the  distance  of  a  long  musket  shot, 
talking  much  and  very  loud  to  us.  We  called  to  them, 
and  waving,  made  them  all  the  signs  we  could  to  come 
nearer.  By  degrees  they  ventured  almost  insensibly  nearer 
and  nearer  till  they  were  quite  alongside,  often  holding  up 
their  lances  as  if  to  show  us  that  if  we  used  them  ill  they 
had  weapons  and  would  return  our  attack.  Cloth,  nails, 
paper,  etc.  etc.,  were  given  to  them,  all  which  they  took 
and  put  into  the  canoe  without  showing  the  least  signs  of 
satisfaction.  At  last  a  small  fish  was  by  accident  thrown 
to  them,  on  which  they  expressed  the  utmost  joy  imaginable, 
and  instantly  putting  off  from  the  ship,  made  signs  that 
they  would  bring  over  their  comrades,  which  they  very  soon 
did,  and  all  four  landed  near  us,  each  carrying  in  his  hand 
two  lances,  and  his  stick  to  throw  them  with.  Tupia  went 
towards  them  ;  they  stood  all  in  a  row  in  the  attitude  of 
throwing  their  lances ;  he  made  signs  that  they  should  lay 
them  down  and  come  forward  without  them;  this  they 
immediately  did,  and  sat  down  upon  the  ground.  We  then 
came  up  to  them  and  made  them  presents  of  beads,  cloth,  etc., 
which  they  took,  and  soon  became  very  easy,  only  jealous 
if  any  one  attempted  to  go  between  them  and  their  arms. 
At  dinner-time  we  made  signs  to  them  to  come  with  us 
and  eat,  but  they  refused ;  we  left  them,  and  they  going 
into  their  canoe,  paddled  back  to  where  they  came  from. 


JULY  1770  FRIENDLY  NATIVES— KANGOOROO  KILLED   287 

11th.  The  Indians  came  over  again  to-day;  two  that 
were  with  us  yesterday,  and  two  new  ones,  whom  our  old 
acquaintance  introduced  to  us  by  their  names,  one  of  which 
was  Yaparico.  Though  we  did  not  yesterday  observe  it, 
they  all  had  the  septum  or  inner  part  of  the  nose  bored 
through  with  a  very  large  hole,  in  which  one  of  them  had 
stuck  the  bone  of  a  bird  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  and  four 
or  six  inches  long,  an  ornament  no  doubt,  though  to  us  it 
appeared  rather  an  uncouth  one.  They  brought  with  them 
a  fish  which  they  gave  to  us,  in  return  I  suppose  for  the 
fish  we  had  given  them  yesterday.  Their  stay  was  but 
short,  for  some  of  our  gentlemen  being  rather  too  curious  in 
examining  their  canoe,  they  went  directly  to  it,  and  pushing 
it  off,  went  away  without  saying  a  word. 

12th.  The  Indians  came  again  to-day  and  ventured  down 
to  Tupia's  tent,  where  they  were  so  pleased  with  their 
reception  that  three  stayed,  while  the  fourth  went  with  the 
canoe  to  fetch  two  others.  They  introduced  their  strangers 
(which  they  always  made  a  point  of  doing)  by  name,  and 
had  some  fish  given  them ;  they  received  it  with  indifference, 
signed  to  our  people  to  cook  it  for  them,  which  was  done, 
ate  part  and  gave  the  rest  to  my  dog.  They  stayed 
the  best  part  of  the  morning,  but  never  ventured  to 
go  above  twenty  yards  from  their  canoe.  The  ribbons 
by  which  we  had  tied  medals  round  their  necks  on  the  first 
day  we  saw  them,  were  covered  with  smoke ;  I  suppose 
they  lay  much  in  the  smoke  to  keep  off  the  mosquitos. 

14tth.  Our  second  lieutenant  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill 
the  animal  that  had  so  long  been  the  subject  of  our  specula- 
tions. To  compare  it  to  any  European  animal  would  be 
impossible,  as  it  has  not  the  least  resemblance  to  any  one  I 
have  seen.  Its  fore-legs  are  extremely  short,  and  of  no  use 
to  it  in  walking ;  its  hind  again  as  disproportionally  long ; 
with  these  it  hops  seven  or  eight  feet  at  a  time,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  jerboa,  to  which  animal  indeed  it  bears  much 
resemblance,  except  in  size,  this  being  in  weight  38  Ibs.,  and 
the  jerboa  no  larger  than  a  common  rat. 

15th.  The  beast  which  was  killed  yesterday  was  to-day 


288  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xn 

dressed  for  our  dinner,  and  proved  excellent  meat.  In  the 
evening  the  boat  returned  from  the  reef,  bringing  four 
turtles ;  so  we  may  now  be  said  to  swim  in  plenty.  Our 
turtles  are  certainly  far  preferable  to  any  I  have  eaten  in 
England,  which  must  be  due  to  their  being  eaten  fresh  from 
the  sea  before  they  have  either  wasted  away  their  fat,  or,  by 
the  unnatural  food  which  they  receive  in  the  tubs  where 
they  are  kept,  acquired  a  fat  of  not  so  delicious  a  flavour 
as  it  is  in  their  wild  state.  Most  of  those  we  have  caught 
have  been  green  turtle  from  two  to  three  hundred  pounds 
in  weight ;  these,  when  killed,  were  always  found  to  be  full 
of  turtle-grass  (a  kind  of  Conferva  I  believe).  Two  only 
were  loggerheads,  which  made  but  indifferent  meat ;  in  their 
stomachs  were  nothing  but  shells. 

16th.  As  the  ship  was  now  ready  for  her  departure,  Dr. 
Solander  and  I  employed  ourselves  in  winding  up  our 
botanical  bottoms,1  examining  what  we  wanted  and  making 
up  our  complement  of  specimens  of  as  many  species  as 
possible.  The  boat  brought  three  turtles  again  to-day,  one 
of  which  was  a  male,  who  was  easily  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  female  by  the  vast  size  of  his  tail,  which  was  four 
times  longer  and  thicker  than  hers ;  in  every  other  respect 
they  were  exactly  alike.  One  of  our  people  on  board  the 
ship,  who  had  been  a  turtler  in  the  West  Indies,  told  me 
that  they  never  sent  male  turtles  home  to  England  from 
thence,  because  they  wasted  in  keeping  much  more  than  the 
females,  which  we  found  to  be  true. 

1*7  th.  Tupia,  who  was  over  the  water  by  himself,  saw 
three  Indians,  who  gave  him  a  kind  of  longish  root  about 
as  thick  as  a  man's  finger  and  of  a  very  good  taste. 

18th.  The  Indians  were  over  with  us  to-day  and  seemed 
to  have  lost  all  fear  of  us,  becoming  quite  familiar.  One  of 
them,  at  our  desire,  threw  his  lance,  which  was  about  eight 
feet  in  length ;  it  flew  with  a  degree  of  swiftness  and 
steadiness  that  really  surprised  me,  never  being  above  four 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  stuck  deep  in  at  a  distance  of 
fifty  paces.  After  this  they  ventured  on  board  the  ship  and 

1  i.e.  affairs. 


JULY  1770  NATIVES  FIRE  THE  GRASS  289 

soon  became  our  very  good  friends,  so  the  captain  and  I  left 
them  to  the  care  of  those  who  stayed  on  board,  and  went  to 
a  high  hill  about  six  miles  from  the  ship ;  here  we  over- 
looked a  great  deal  of  sea  to  leeward,  which  afforded  a 
melancholy  prospect  of  the  difficulties  we  were  to  encounter 
when  we  came  out  of  our  present  harbour.  In  whatever 
direction  we  turned  our  eyes  shoals  innumerable  were  to  be 
seen,  and  no  such  thing  as  a  passage  to  the  sea,  except  through 
the  winding  channels  between  them,  dangerous  to  the  last 
degree. 

19th.  The  Indians  visited  us  to-day,  and  brought  with 
them  a  larger  quantity  of  lances  than  they  had  ever  done 
before.  These  they  laid  up  in  a  tree,  leaving  a  man  and  a 
boy  to  take  care  of  them,  and  came  on  board  the  ship. 
They  soon  let  us  know  their  errand,  which  was  by  some 
means  or  other  to  get  one  of  our  turtles,  of  which  we  had 
eight  or  nine  lying  upon  the  decks.  They  first  by  signs 
asked  for  one,  and  on  being  refused  showed  great  marks  of 
resentment.  One  who  asked  me,  on  my  refusal,  stamping 
with  his  foot,  pushed  me  from  him  with  a  countenance  full 
of  disdain  and  applied  to  some  one  else.  As,  however,  they 
met  with  no  encouragement  in  this,  they  laid  hold  of  a 
turtle  and  hauled  it  to  the  side  of  the  ship  where  their 
canoe  lay.  It  was,  however,  soon  taken  from  them  and 
replaced  ;  they  nevertheless  repeated  the  experiment  two  or 
three  times,  and  after  meeting  with  so  many  repulses,  all  in 
an  instant  leaped  into  their  canoe  and  went  ashore,  where  I 
had  got  before  them,  just  ready  to  set  out  plant-gathering. 
They  seized  their  arms  in  an  instant,  and  taking  fire  from 
under  a  pitch  kettle  which  was  boiling,  they  began  to  set 
fire  to  the  grass  to  windward  of  the  few  things  we  had  left 
ashore,  with  surprising  dexterity  and  quickness.  The  grass, 
which  was  four  or  five  feet  high  and  as  dry  as  stubble, 
burnt  with  vast  fury.  A  tent  of  mine,  which  had  been  put 
up  for  Tupia  when  he  was  sick,  was  the  only  thing  of  any 
consequence  in  the  way  of  it,  so  I  leaped  into  a  boat  to 
fetch  some  people  from  the  ship  in  order  to  save  it,  and 
quickly  returning,  hauled  it  down  to  the  beach  just  in  time. 

u 


\ 


290  AUSTRALIA  CHAP,  xn 

The  captain  in  the  meanwhile  followed  the  Indians  to 
prevent  their  burning  our  linen  and  the  seine  which  lay 
upon  the  grass  just  where  they  had  gone.  He  had  no 
musket  with  him,  so  soon  returned  to  fetch  one,  for  no 
threats  or  signs  would  make  them  desist.  Mine  was  ashore, 
and  another  loaded  with  shot,  so  we  ran  as  fast  as  possible 
towards  them  and  came  up  just  in  time  to  save  the  seine  by 
firing  at  an  Indian  who  had  already  fired  the  grass  in  two 
distinct  places  just  to  windward  of  it.  On  the  shot  striking 
him,  though  he  was  full  forty  yards  away,  he  dropped  his 
fire  and  ran  nimbly  to  his  comrades,  who  all  ran  off  pretty 
fast. 

I  had  little  idea  of  the  fury  with  which  the  grass  burnt 
in  this  hot  climate,  nor  of  the  difficulty  of  extinguishing  it 
when  once  lighted.  This  accident  will,  however,  be  a 
sufficient  warning  for  us,  if  ever  we  should  again  pitch  tents 
in  such  a  climate,  to  burn  everything  around  us  before  we 
begin. 

22nd.  One  of  our  people  who  had  been  sent  out  to 
gather  Indian  kale,  straying  from  his  party,  met  with  three 
Indians,  two  men  and  a  boy.  He  came  upon  them  suddenly 
as  they  were  sitting  among  some  long  grass.  At  first  he 
was  much  afraid,  and  offered  them  his  knife,  the  only  thing 
he  had  which  he  thought  might  be  acceptable  to  them  ; 
they  took  it,  and  after  handing  it  from  one  to  another 
returned  it  to  him.  They  kept  him  about  half  an  hour, 
behaving  most  civilly  to  him,  only  satisfying  their  curiosity 
in  examining  his  body,  which  done,  they  made  him  signs 
that  he  might  go  away,  which  he  did,  very  well  pleased. 
They  had  hanging  on  a  tree  by  them,  he  said,  a  quarter  of 
the  wild  animal,  and  a  cockatoo ;  but  how  they  had  been 
clever  enough  to  take  these  animals  is  almost  beyond  my 
conception,  as  both  of  them  are  most  shy,  especially  the 
cockatoos. 

23rd.  In  botanising  to-day  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river  we  accidentally  found  the  greater  part  of  the  clothes 
which  had  been  given  to  the  Indians  left  all  in  a  heap 
together,  doubtless  as  lumber  not  worth  carriage.  Maybe 


JULY  1770  LEAVE  ENDEAVOUR  RIVER  291 

had  we  looked  further  we  should  have  found  our  other 
trinkets,  for  they  seemed  to  set  no  value  on  anything  we 
had  except  our  turtle,  which  of  all  things  we  were  the  least 
able  to  spare  them. 

24tth.  While  travelling  in  a  deep  valley,  the  sides  of 
which  were  steep  almost  as  a  wall,  but  covered  with  trees  and 
plenty  of  brushwood,  we  found  marking-nuts  (Anacardium 
orientale)  lying  on  the  ground.  Desirous  as  we  were  to 
find  the  tree  on  which  they  had  grown,  a  thing  that  I 
believe  no  European  botanist  has  seen,  we  were  not  with  all 
our  pains  able  to  find  it,  so  after  cutting  down  four  or  five 
trees,  and  spending  much  time,  we  were  obliged  to  give 
over  our  hopes. 

26th.  While  botanising  to-day  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
take  an  animal  of  the  opossum  (Didelphis)  tribe ;  it  was  a 
female,  and  with  it  I  took  two  young  ones.  It  was  not 
unlike  that  remarkable  one  which  De  Buffon  has  described 
by  the  name  of  Phalanger  as  an  American  animal.  It  was, 
however,  not  the  same.  M.  de  Buffon  is  certainly  wrong  in 
asserting  that  this  tribe  is  peculiar  to  America,  and  in  all 
probability,  as  Pallas  has  said  in  his  Zoologia,  the  Phalanger 
itself  is  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  as  my  animals  and  that 
agree  in  the  extraordinary  conformation  of  their  feet,  in 
which  particular  they  differ  from  all  the  others. 

2*1  th.  This  day  was  dedicated  to  hunting  the  wild  animal. 
We  saw  several,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill  a  very 
large  one  weighing  84  Ibs. 

28th.  Botanising  with  no  kind  of  success,  the  plants 
were  now  entirely  completed,  and  nothing  new  to  be  found, 
so  that  sailing  is  all  we  wish  for,  if  the  wind  would  but 
allow  us. 

IQth  August.  Fine  weather,  so  the  anchor  was  got  up, 
and  we  sailed  down  to  leeward,  hoping  there  might  be  a 
passage  that  way.  In  this  we  were  much  encouraged  by 
the  sight  of  some  high  islands  where  we  hoped  the  shoals 
would  end.  By  twelve  we  were  among  these,  and  fancied 
that  the  grand  or  outer  reef  ended  on  one  of  them,  so  were 
all  in  high  spirits ;  but  about  dinner-time  the  people  who 


292  AUSTRALIA  TO  TORRES  STRAITS         CHAP,  xn 

were  at  the  mast-head  saw,  as  they  thought,  land  all  round 
us,  on  which  we  immediately  came  to  an  anchor,  resolved  to 
go  ashore,  and  from  the  hills  see  whether  it  was  so  or  not. 

The  point  we  went  on1  was  sandy  and  very  barren,  so 
it  afforded  very  few  plants  or  anything  else  worth  our 
observation.  The  sand  itself,  indeed,  with  which  the  whole 
country  in  a  manner  was  covered,  was  infinitely  fine  and 
white,  but  until  a  glass-house  is  built  here  that  could  be 
turned  to  no  account.  We  had  the  satisfaction,  however, 
to  see  that  what  was  taken  for  land  round  us  proved  only  a 
number  of  islands. 

11th.  The  captain  went  to-day  to  one  of  the  islands,2 
which  proved  to  be  five  leagues  from  "the  ship.  I  went 
with  him.  We  passed  over  two  very  large  shoals,  on  which 
we  saw  great  plenty  of  turtle,  but  we  had  too  much  wind 
to  strike  any.  The  island  itself  was  high ;  we  ascended 
the  hill,  and  from  the  top  saw  plainly  the  grand  reef  still 
extending  itself  parallel  with  the  shore  at  about  the  distance 
of  three  leagues  from  us,  or  eight  from  the  main.  Through 
it  were  several  channels  exactly  similar  to  those  we  had 
seen  in  the  islands ;  through  one  of  these,  which  seemed 
most  easy,  we  determined  to  go.  To  ascertain,  however, 
the  practicability  of  it,  we  resolved  to  stay  upon  the  island 
all  night,  and  at  daybreak  send  a  boat  to  sound  one  of 
them,  which  was  accordingly  done.  We  slept  under  the 
shade  of  a  bush  that  grew  upon  the  beach  very  comfortably. 

12th.  Great  part  of  yesterday  and  all  this  morning  till 
the  boat  returned  I  employed  in  searching  the  island.  On 
it  I  found  some  few  plants  which  I  had  not  before  seen. 
The  island  itself  was  small  and  barren ;  there  was,  however, 
one  small  tract  of  woodland  which  abounded  very  much 
with  large  lizards,  some  of  which  I  took.  Distant  as  this 
isle  was  from  the  main,  the  Indians  had  been  here  in  their 
poor  embarkations,  a  sure  sign  that  some  part  of  the  year 
must  have  very  settled  fine  weather.  We  saw  seven  or 
eight  frames  of  their  huts,  and  vast  piles  of  shells,  the  fish 
of  which  had,  I  suppose,  been  their  food.  All  the  houses 

1  Cape  Flattery.  2  Lizard  Island. 


AUG.  1770       EAGLE  ISLAND— COOK'S  PASSAGE  293 

were  built  upon  the  tops  of  eminences,  exposed  entirely  to 
the  S.E.,  contrary  to  those  of  the  main,  which  are  commonly 
placed  under  some  bushes  or  hillside  to  break  the  wind. 
The  officer  who  went  in  the  boat  returned  with  an  account 
that  the  sea  broke  vastly  high  upon  the  reef,  and  that  the 
swell  was  so  great  in  the  opening  that  he  could  not  go  into 
it  to  sound ;  this  was  sufficient  to  assure  us  of  a  safe  passage 
out ;  so  we  got  into  the  boat  to  return  to  the  ship  in  high 
spirits,  thinking  our  dangers  now  at  an  end,  as  we  had  a 
passage  open  for  us  to  the  main  sea.  On  our  return  we 
went  ashore  on  a  low  island,1  where  we  shot  many  birds : 
on  it  was  the  nest  of  an  eagle,  the  young  ones  of  which  we 
killed ;  and  another  I  knew  not  of  what  bird,  built  on  the 
ground,  of  a  most  enormous  magnitude :  it  was  in  circum- 
ference 2  6  feet,  and  in  height  2  feet  8  inches,'  built  of  sticks.2 
The  only  bird  I  have  seen  in  this  country  capable  of  build- 
ing such  a  nest  seems  to  be  the  pelican.  The  Indians  had 
been  here  likewise  and  lived  upon  turtle,  as  we  could  plainly 
see  by  the  heaps  of  callipashes  [carapaces]  piled  up  in  many 
parts  of  the  island.  Our  master,  who  had  been  sent  to  leeward 
to  examine  that  passage,  went  ashore  upon  a  low  island,  where 
he  slept ;  such  great  plenty  of  turtle  had  the  Indians  had 
when  there,  that  they  had  hung  up  the  fins  with  the  meat 
left  on  them  on  trees,  where  the  sun  had  dried  them  so  well 
that  our  seamen  eat  them  heartily.  He  saw  also  two  spots 
clear  of  grass,  which  had  lately  been  dug  up;  they  were 
about  seven  feet  long  and  shaped  like  a  grave,  for  which 
indeed  he  took  them. 

13th.  Ship  stood  out  for  the  opening3  we  had  seen  in 
the  reef,  and  about  two  o'clock  passed  through  it ;  it  was 
about  half  a  mile  wide.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  well  within 
it,  we  had  no  ground  with  100  fathoms  of  line,  so  became  in 
an  instant  quite  easy,  being  once  more  in  the  main  ocean, 
and  subsequently  freed  from  all  fears  of  shoals,  etc. 

I4:th.  For  the  first  time  these  three  months  we  were  this 

1  Eagle  Island. 

2  No  doubt  the  nest  of  the  Jungle  bird,  a  species  of  Megapodium. 
3  Cook's  passage. 


294  AUSTRALIA  TO  TORRES  STRAITS         CHAP,  xn 

day  out  of  sight  of  land,  to  our  no  small  satisfaction.  A 
reef  such  as  we  have  just  passed  is  a  thing  scarcely  known 
in  Europe,  or  indeed  anywhere  but  in  these  seas.  It  is  a 
wall  of  coral  rock,  rising  almost  perpendicularly  out  of  the 
unfathomable  ocean,  always  covered  at  high- water,  commonly 
by  seven  or  eight  feet,  and  generally  bare  at  low-water. 
The  large  waves  of  the  vast  ocean  meeting  with  so  sudden 
a  resistance  make  here  a  most  terrible  surf,  breaking  moun- 
tains high,  especially  when,  as  in  our  case,  the  general  trade- 
wind  blows  directly  upon  it. 

16th.  At  three  o'clock  this  morning  it  dropped  calm, 
which  did  not  better  our  situation,  for  we  were  not  more 
than  four  or  five  leagues  from  the  reef;  towards  which  the 
swell  drove  us.  By  six  o'clock  we  were  within  a  cable 
length  of  the  reef,  so  fast  had  we  been  driven  on  it,  without 
our  being  able  to  find  ground  with  100  fathoms.  The  boats 
were  got  out,  to  try  if  they  could  tow  the  ship  off,  but  we 
were  within  forty  yards  when  a  light  air  sprang  up,  and 
moved  the  ship  off  a  little.  The  boats  being  now  manned 
tried  to  tow  her  away,  but,  whenever  the  air  dropped,  they 
only  succeeded  in  keeping  the  ship  stationary.  We  now 
found  what  had  been  the  real  cause  of  our  escape,  namely, 
the  turn  of  the  tide.  It  was  the  flood  that  had  hurried  us 
so  unaccountably  fast  to  the  reef,  which  we  had  almost 
reached  just  at  high- water.  The  ebb,  however,  aided  by  the 
boats'  crews,  only  carried  us  about  two  miles  from  the  reef, 
when  the  tide  turned  again,  so  that  we  were  in  no  better 
situation.  No  wind  would  have  been  of  any  use,  for  we 
were  so  embayed  by  the  reef  that  with  the  general  trade- 
wind  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  get  out.  Fortunately 
a  narrow  opening  in  the  reef  was  observed,  and  a  boat  sent 
to  examine  it  reporting  that  it  was  practicable — the  other 
boats  meanwhile  struggling  against  the  flood — the  ship's 
head  was  turned  towards  it,  and  we  were  carried  through 
by  a  stream  like  a  mill-race.  By  four  o'clock  we  came  to 
an  anchor,  happy  once  more  to  encounter  those  shoals  which 
but  two  days  before  we  had  thought  ourselves  supremely 
happy  to  have  escaped  from. 


AUG.  1770  TORRES  STRAITS  29 

As  we  were  now  safe  at  an  anchor,  the  boats  were  sent  upon 
the  nearest  shoal  to  search  for  shell-fish,  turtle,  or  whatever 
else  they  could  get;  Dr.  Solander  and  I  accompanied  them 
in  my  small  boat.  On  our  way  we  met  with  two  water- 
snakes,  one  five  and  the  other  six  feet  long :  we  took  them 
both.  They  much  resembled  land  snakes,  only  their  tails 
were  flattened  sideways,  I  suppose,  for  the  convenience  of 
swimming,  and  they  were  not  venomous.  The  shoal  we 
went  upon  was  the  very  reef  we  had  so  nearly  been  lost 
upon  yesterday,  now  no  longer  terrible  to  us.  It  afforded 
little  provision  for  the  ship,  no  turtle,  only  300  Ibs.  of  great 
cockles  ;  some  of  an  immense  size.  We  had  in  the  way  of 
curiosity  much  better  success,  meeting  with  many  curious 
fish  and  mollusca,  besides  corals  of  many  species,  all  alive, 
among  which  was  the  Tulipora  musica.  I  have  often 
lamented  that  we  had  not  time  to  make  proper  observations 
upon  this  curious  tribe  of  animals ;  but  we  were  so  entirely 
taken  up  with  the  more  conspicuous  links  of  the  chain  of 
creation,  as  fish,  plants,  birds,  etc.  etc.,  that  it  was  impossible. 

21st.  We  observed  both  last  night  and  this  morning  that 
the  main  looked  very  narrow,1  so  we  began  to  look  out  for 
the  passage  we  expected  to  find  between  New  Holland  and 
New  Guinea.  At  noon  one  was  seen,  very  narrow  but 
appearing  to  widen ;  we  resolved  to  try  it,  so  stood  in.  The 
anchor  was  dropped,  and  we  went  ashore2  to  examine  whether 
the  place  we  stood  into  was  a  bay  or  a  passage ;  for  as  we 
sailed  right  before  the  trade-wind,  we  might  find  difficulty 
in  getting  out,  should  it  prove  to  be  the  former.  The  hill 
gave  us  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  strait,  at  least  as  far 
as  we  could  see,  without  any  obstructions :  in  the  evening 
a  strong  tide  made  us  almost  certain.3 

26th.  Fine  weather  and  clear  fresh  trade:  stood  to  the 
W.  and  deepened  our  water  from  13  to  2*7  fathoms. 

1  York  Peninsula.  2  On  Possession  Island. 

3  Banks  does  not  allude  to  Cook  having  here  hoisted  English  colours 
and  taken  possession  of  the  whole  east  coast  of  Australia  from  38°  S.  to 
Cape  York  in  the  name  of  the  king,  as  he  had  of  several  other  places  along 
the  coast  (Wharton's  Cook,  p.  312).  Neither  Cook  nor  Banks  was  aware  that 
Torres  had  sailed  through  these  straits  in  1606  (see  p.  li.) 


CHAPTEE    XIII 

SOME   ACCOUNT    OF    THAT    PART    OF    NEW    HOLLAND    NOW 
CALLED    NEW    SOUTH   WALES1 

General  appearance  of  the  coast  —  Dampier's  narrative — Barrenness  of  the 
country— Scarcity  of  water — Vegetables  and  fruits — Timber — Palms — 
Gum  trees — Quadrupeds — Birds — Insects — Ants  and  their  habitations — 
Fish — Turtle — Shell-fish — Scarcity  of  people — Absence  of  cultivation — 
Description  of  natives— Ornaments — Absence  of  vermin — Implements  for 
catching  fish — Food — Cooking — Habitations  —  Furniture — Vessels  for 
carrying  water — Bags — Tools — Absence  of  sharp  instruments — Native 
method  of  procuring  fire — Weapons — Throwiug-sticks — Shield — Cowardice 
of  the  people— Canoes — Climate — Language. 

HAVING  now,  I  believe,  fairly  passed  through  between  New 
Holland  and  New  Guinea,  and  having  an  open  sea  to  the 
westward,  so  that  to-morrow  we  intend  to  steer  more  to  the 
northwards  in  order  to  make  the  south  coast  of  New  Guinea, 
it  seems  high  time  to  take  leave  of  New  Holland,  which  I 
shall  do  by  summing  up  the  few  observations  I  have  been 
able  to  make  on  the  country  and  people.  I  much  wished, 
indeed,  to  have  had  better  opportunities  of  seeing  and 
observing  the  people,  as  they  differ  so  much  from  the  account 
that  Dampier  (the  only  man  I  know  of  who  has  seen  them 
besides  us)  has  given  of  them :  he  indeed  saw  them  on 
a  part  of  the  coast  very  distant  from  where  we  were, 
and  consequently  the  people  might  be  different;  but  I 
should  rather  conclude  them  to  be  the  same,  chiefly  from 
having  observed  an  universal  conformity  in  such  of  their 

1  This  chapter  is  thus  entitled  by  Banks.  The  name  "New  Wales"  was 
bestowed  by  Cook  on  the  whole  eastern  coast  from  lat.  38  S.  to  Cape  York  : 
the  Admiralty  copy  of  Cook's  Journal,  and  that  belonging  to  Her  Majesty, 
call  it  "New  South  Wales"  (Wharton's  Cook,  p.  312). 


1770         DAMPIER'S  VOYAGE  TO  NEW  HOLLAND  297 

customs  as  came  under  my  observation  in  the  several 
places  we  landed  upon  during  the  run  along  the  coast. 
Dampier  in  general  seems  to  be  a  faithful  relater ;  but  in 
the  voyage  in  which  he  touched  on  the  coast  of  New 
Holland  he  was  in  a  ship  of  pirates ;  possibly  himself  not  a 
little  tainted  by  their  idle  examples,  he  might  have  kept  no 
written  journal  of  anything  more  than  the  navigation  of  the 
ship,  and  when  upon  coming  home  he  was  solicited  to  publish 
an  account  of  his  voyage,  may  have  referred  to  his  memory 
for  many  particulars  relating  to  the  people,  etc.  These 
Indians,  when  covered  with  their  filth,  which  I  believe  they 
never  wash  off,  are,  if  not  coal  black,  very  near  it.  As  negroes, 
then,  he  might  well  esteem  them,  and  add  the  woolly  hair 
and  want  of  two  front  teeth  in  consequence  of  the  similitude 
in  complexion  between  these  and  the  natives  of  Africa ;  but 
from  whatever  cause  it  might  arise,  certain  it  is  that 
Dampier  either  was  very  much  mistaken  in  his  account, 
or  else  saw  a  very  different  race  of  people  from  those  we 
have  seen. 

In  the  whole  length  of  coast  which  we  sailed  along,  there 
was  a  very  unusual  sameness  to  be  observed  in  the  face  of 
the  country.  Barren  it  may  justly  be  called,  and  in  a  very 
high  degree,  so  far  at  least  as  we  saw.  The  soil  in  general 
is  sandy  and  very  light ;  on  it  grow  grass,  tall  enough  but 
thin  set,  and  trees  of  a  tolerable  size ;  never,  however,  near 
together,  being  in  general  40,  50,  and  60  feet  apart. 
This,  and  spots  of  loose  sand,  sometimes  very  large,  con- 
stitute the  general  face  of  the  country  as  you  sail  along  it, 
and  indeed  the  greater  part  even  after  penetrating  inland 
as  far  as  our  situation  would  allow  us  to  do.  The  banks  of 
the  bays  were  generally  clothed  with  thick  mangroves,  some- 
times for  a  mile  or  more  in  breadth.  The  soil  under  these 
is  rank  mud,  always  overflowed  every  spring  tide.  Inland 
you  sometimes  meet  with  a  bog  upon  which  the  grass  grows 
rank  and  thick,  so  that  no  doubt  the  soil  is  sufficiently 
fertile.  The  valleys  also  between  the  hills,  where  runs  of 
water  come  down,  are  thickly  clothed  with  underwood ;  but 
they  are  generally  very  steep  and  narrow,  so  that  upon  the 


298  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

whole  the  fertile  soil  bears  no  kind  of  proportion  to  that 
which  seems  by  nature  doomed  to  everlasting  barrenness. 

Water  is  a  scarce  article,  or  at  least  was  so  while 
we  were  there,  which  I  believe  to  have  been  in  the  very 
height  of  the  dry  season.  At  some  places  we  were  in 
we  saw  not  a  drop,  and  at  the  two  places  where  we  filled 
for  the  ship's  use  it  was  done  from  pools,  not  brooks.  This 
drought  is  probably  owing  to  the  dryness  of  a  soil  almost 
entirely  composed  of  sand,  in  which  high  hills  are  scarce. 
That  there  is  plenty,  however,  in  the  rainy  season  is 
sufficiently  evinced  by  the  channels  we  saw  cut  even  in 
rocks  down  the  sides  of  inconsiderable  hills :  these  were  in 
general  dry,  or  if  any  of  them  contained  water,  it  was  such 
as  ran  in  the  woody  valleys,  and  they  seldom  carried  water 
above  half-way  down  the  hill.  Some,  indeed,  we  saw  that 
formed  brooks,  and  ran  quite  down  to  the  sea ;  but  these 
were  scarce  and  in  general  brackish  a  good  way  up  from  the 
beach. 

A  soil  so  barren,  and  at  the  same  time  entirely  void  of 
the  help  derived  from  cultivation,  could  not  be  supposed  to 
yield  much  to  the  support  of  man.  We  had  been  so  long 
at  sea  with  but  a  scanty  supply  of  fresh  provisions,  that  we 
had  long  been  used  to  eat  everything  we  could  lay  our 
hands  upon,  fish,  flesh,  and  vegetables,  if  only  they  were  not 
poisonous.  Yet  we  could  only  now  and  then  procure  a  dish 
of  bad  greens  for  our  own  table,  and  never,  except  in  the 
place  where  the  ship  was  careened,  did  we  meet  with  a 
sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  ship.  There,  indeed,  palm 
cabbage,  and  what  is  called  in  the  West  Indies  Indian  kale, 
were  in  tolerable  plenty ;  as  also  was  a  sort  of  purslane. 
The  other  plants  which  we  ate  were  a  kind  of  bean  (very 
bad),  a  kind  of  parsley,  and  a  plant  something  resembling 
spinach,  which  two  last  grew  only  to  the  southward.  I 
shall  give  their  botanical  names,  as  I  believe  some  of  them 
were  never  eaten  by  Europeans  before :  Indian  kale  (Arum 
esculentum),  red-flowered  purslane  (Sesuvium  portulacastrum), 
beans  (Grlycine  speciosa),  parsley  (Apivm),  spinach  (Tetragonia 
cornuta). 


1770  PLANTS  299 

We  had  still  fewer  fruits;  to  the  southwards  was  one 
somewhat  resembling  a  heart  cherry  (Eugenia),  only  the 
stone  was  soft :  it  had  nothing  but  a  slight  acid  to  re- 
commend it.  To  the  northward,  we  had  a  kind  of  very 
indifferent  fig  (Ficus  caudiciflora)  growing  from  the  stalk  of 
a  tree,  a  fruit  we  called  plums — like  them  in  colour,  but 
flat  like  a  little  cheese — and  another  much  like  a  damson 
both  in  appearance  and  taste.  Both  these  last,  however, 
were  so  full  of  a  large  stone,  that  eating  them  was  but  an 
unprofitable  business.  "Wild  plantains  we  had  also,  but  so 
full  of  seeds  that  they  had  little  or  no  pulp. 

For  the  article  of  timber  there  is  certainly  no  want  of 
trees  of  more  than  the  middling  size,  and  some  in  the 
valleys  are  very  large,  but  all  of  a  very  hard  nature.  Our 
carpenters,  who  cut  them  down  for  firewood,  complained 
much  that  their  tools  were  damaged  by  them.  Some  trees 
there  are  also  to  the  northward,  whose  soft  bark,  which 
easily  peels  off,  is  in  the  East  Indies  used  for  caulking  ships 
in  lieu  of  oakum. 

Palms  here  are  of  three  different  sorts :  the  first,1  which 
grew  plentifully  to  the  southward,  has  leaves  plaited  like  a 
fan ;  the  cabbage  of  these  is  small,  but  exquisitely  sweet, 
and  the  nuts  which  it  bears  in  great  abundance  make  a  very 
good  food  for  hogs.  The  second  is  very  like  the  real 
cabbage  tree  of  the  "West  Indies,  bearing  pinnated  leaves 
like  those  of  a  cocoanut :  this  also  yields  cabbage,  which,  if 
not  so  sweet  as  the  other  sort,  yet  makes  ample  amends  in 
quantity.  The  third,2  which  like  the  second  is  found  only 
in  the  northern  parts,  is  low,  seldom  10  feet  in  height, 
with  small  pinnated  leaves  resembling  those  of  some  kinds 
of  fern.  Cabbage  it  has  none,  but  generally  bears  a  plenti- 
ful crop  of  nuts,  about  the  size  of  a  large  chestnut,  and 
rounder.  By  the  hulls  of  these,  which  we  found  plentifully 
near  the  Indian  fires,  we  were  assured  that  these  people  ate 
them,  and  some  of  our  gentlemen  tried  to  do  the  same,  but 
were  deterred  from  a  second  experiment  by  a  hearty  fit  of 
vomiting.  The  hogs,  however,  which  were  still  shorter  of 

1  Livistona  australis,  Mart.  2  Gycas  media,  Br. 


300  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF   NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

provision  than  we  were,  ate  them  heartily,  and  we  con- 
sidered their  constitutions  stronger  than  ours,  until  after 
about  a  week  they  were  all  taken  extremely  ill  of  indigestion  ; 
two  died,  and  the  rest  were  saved  with  difficulty. 

Other  useful  plants  we  saw  none,  except  perhaps  two, 
which  might  be  found  so,  yielding  resin  in  abundance.  The 
one,1  a  tree  tolerably  large,  with  narrow  leaves  not  unlike  a 
willow,  was  plentiful  in  every  place  into  which  we  went, 
and  yielded  a  blood-red  resin  or  rather  gum-resin,  very 
nearly  resembling  Sanguis  draconis;  indeed,  as  Sanguis 
draconis  is  the  produce  of  several  different  plants,  this  may 
be  perhaps  one  of  the  sorts.  This  I  should  suppose  to  be 
the  gum  mentioned  by  Dampier  in  his  voyage  round  the 
world,  and  by  him  compared  with  Sanguis  draconis,  as 
possibly  also  that  which  Tasman  saw  upon  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  where  he  says  he  saw  gum  on  the  trees,  and  gum  lac 
on  the  ground.  (See  his  voyage  in  a  collection  published  at 
London  in  1694,  p.  133.)  The  other2  was  a  small  plant 
with  long  narrow  grassy  leaves  and  a  spike  of  flowers 
resembling  much  that  kind  of  bulrush  which  is  called  in 
England  cat's  tail :  this  yielded  a  resin  of  a  bright  yellow 
colour  perfectly  resembling  gamboge,  only  that  it  did  not 
stain ;  it  had  a  sweet  smell,  but  what  its  properties  are  the 
chemists  may  be  able  to  determine. 

Of  plants  in  general  the  country  affords  a  far  larger 
variety  than  its  barren  appearance  seemed  to  promise : 
many  of  these  no  doubt  possess  properties  which  might  be 
useful  for  physical  and  economical  purposes,  which  we  were 
not  able  to  investigate.  Could  we  have  understood  the 
Indians,  or  made  them  by  any  means  our  friends,  we  might 
perchance  have  learnt  some  of  these ;  for  though  their  man- 
ner of  life,  but  one  degree  removed  from  brutes,  does  not 
seem  to  promise  much,  yet  they  had  some  knowledge  of  plants, 
as  we  could  plainly  perceive  by  their  having  names  for  them. 

Thus  much  for  plants.  I  have  been  rather  particular 
in  mentioning  those  which  we  ate,  hoping  that  such  a 
record  might  be  of  use  to  some  or  other  into  whose  hands 

1  Eucalyptus.  2  Xanthorrlwsa. 


1770  ANIMALS  301 

these  papers  fall.  For  quadrupeds,  birds,  fish,  etc.,  I 
shall  say  no  more  than  that  we  had  some  time  ago  learned 
to  eat  every  single  species  which  came  in  our  way ;  a 
hawk  or  a  crow  was  to  us  as  delicate,  and  perhaps  a  better- 
relished  meal,  than  a  partridge  or  pheasant  to  those  who 
have  plenty  of  dainties.  We  wanted  nothing  to  recommend 
any  food  but  its  not  being  salt ;  that  alone  was  sufficient  to 
make  it  a  delicacy.  Shags,  sea-gulls,  and  all  that  tribe  of 
sea-fowl  which  are  reckoned  bad  from  their  trainy  or  fishy 
taste,  were  to  us  an  agreeable  food :  we  did  not  at  all  taste 
the  rankness,  which  no  doubt  has  been  and  possibly  will 
again  be  highly  nauseous  to  us,  whenever  we  have  plenty  of 
beef  and  mutton,  etc. 

Quadrupeds  we  saw  but  few,  and  were  able  to  catch  but 
few  of  those  we  did  see.  The  largest  was  called  by  the 
natives  kangooroo ;  it  is  different  from  any  European,  and, 
indeed,  any  animal  I  have  heard  or  read  of,  except  the  jerboa 
of  Egypt,  which  is  not  larger  than  a  rat,  while  this  is  as 
large  as  a  middling  lamb.  The  largest  we  shot  weighed 
84  Ibs.  It  may,  however,  be  easily  known  from  all  other 
animals  by  the  singular  property  of  running,  or  rather 
hopping,  upon  only  its  hinder  legs,  carrying  its  fore-feet  close 
to  its  breast.  In  this  manner  it  hops  so  fast  that  in  the 
rocky  bad  ground  where  it  is  commonly  found,  it  easily 
beat  my  greyhound,  who,  though  he  was  fairly  started  at 
several,  killed  only  one,  and  that  quite  a  young  one.  Another 
animal  was  called  by  the  natives  je-quoll ;  it  is  about  the 
size  of,  and  something  like,  a  pole-cat,  of  a  light  brown, 
spotted  with  white  on  the  back,  and  white  under  the  belly. 
The  third  was  of  the  opossum  kind,  and  much  resembled 
that  called  by  De  Buffon  PJialanger.  Of  these  two  last  I 
took  only  one  individual  of  each.  Bats  here  were  many : 
one  small  one  was  much  if  not  identically  the  same  as 
that  described  by  De  Buffon  under  the  name  of  Fer  de 
cheval.  Another  sort  was  as  large  as,  or  larger  than, 
a*  partridge ;  but  of  this  species  we  were  not  fortunate 
enough  to  take  one.  We  supposed  it,  however,  to  be  the 
Eousette  or  Rougette  of  the  same  author.  Besides  these, 


302  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

wolves  were,  I  believe,  seen  by  several  of  our  people,  and 
some  other  animals  described ;  but  from  the  unintelligible 
style  of  the  describers,  I  could  not  even  determine  whether 
they  were  such  as  I  myself  had  seen,  or  of  different  kinds. 
Of  these  descriptions  I  shall  insert  one,  as  it  is  not  unenter- 
taining. 

A  seaman  who  had  been  out  on  duty  declared  that  he 
had  seen  an  animal  about  the  size  of,  and  much  like  a  one- 
gallon  cagg.  "  It  was,"  says  he,  "  as  black  as  the  devil,  and 
had  wings,  indeed  I  took  it  for  the  devil,  or  I  might  easily 
have  catched  it,  for  it  crawled  very  slowly  through  the 
grass."  After  taking  some  pains,  I  found  out  that  the 
animal  he  had  seen  was  no  other  than  the  large  bat. 

Of  sea-fowl  there  were  several  species :  gulls,  shags, 
solan  geese  or  gannets  of  two  sorts,  boobies,  etc.,  and  pelicans 
of  an  enormous  size ;  but  these  last,  though  we  saw  many 
thousands  of  them,  were  so  shy  that  we  never  got  one,  as 
were  the  cranes  also,  of  which  we  saw  several  very  large 
and  some  beautiful  species.  In  the  rivers  were  ducks 
which  flew  in  very  large  flocks,  but  were  very  hard  to  come 
at ;  and  on  the  beach  were  curlews  of  several  sorts,  some 
very  like  our  English  ones,  and  many  small  beach  birds. 
The  land  birds  were  crows,  very  like  if  not  quite  the  same 
as  our  English  ones,  most  beautiful  parrots  and  parroquets, 
white  and  black  cockatoos,  pigeons,  beautiful  doves,  bustards 
and  many  others  which  did  not  at  all  resemble  those  of 
Europe.  Most  of  these  were  extremely  shy,  so  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  we  shot  any  of  them.  A  crow  in  Eng- 
land, though  in  general  sufficiently  wary,  is,  I  must  say,  a 
fool  to  a  New  Holland  crow,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
almost  all  if  not  all  the  birds  in  the  country.  The  only 
ones  we  ever  got  in  any  plenty  were  pigeons,  of  which  we 
met  large  flocks,  and  of  which  the  men  who  were  sent  out 
on  purpose  would  sometimes  kill  ten  or  twelve  a  day.  They 
were  beautiful  birds,  crested  differently  from  any  other 
pigeon  I  have  seen.  What  can  be  the  reason  of  this  extra- 
ordinary shyness  in  the  birds  is  difficult  to  say,  unless 
perhaps  the  Indians  are  very  clever  in  deceiving  them, 


1770  ANTS  303 

which  we  have  very  little  reason  to  suppose,  as  we  never 
saw  any  instrument  with  them  with  which  a  bird  could  be 
killed  or  taken,  except  their  lances,  and  these  must  be  very 
improper  tools  for  the  purpose.  Yet  one  of  our  people  saw 
a  white  cockatoo  in  their  possession,  which  very  bird  we 
looked  upon  to  be  one  of  the  wariest  of  them  all. 

Of  insects  there  were  but  few  sorts,  and  among  them 
only  the  ants  were  troublesome  to  us.  Mosquitos,  indeed, 
were  in  some  places  tolerably  plentiful,  but  it  was  our  good 
fortune  never  to  stay  any  time  in  such  places.  The  ants, 
however,  made  ample  amends  for  the  want  of  the  mosquitos  ; 
two  sorts  in  particular,  one  green  as  a  leaf,  and  living  upon 
trees,  where  it  built  a  nest,  in  size  between  that  of  a  man's 
head  and  his  fist,  by  bending  the  leaves  together,  and  gluing 
them  with  a  whitish  papery  substance  which  held  them 
firmly  together.  In  doing  this  their  management  was  most 
curious :  they  bend  down  four  leaves  broader  than  a  man's 
hand,  and  place  them  in  such  a  direction  as  they  choose. 
This  requires  a  much  larger  force  than  these  animals  seem 
capable  of;  many  thousands  indeed  are  employed  in  the 
joint  work.  I  have  seen  as  many  as  could  stand  by  one 
another,  holding  down  such  a  leaf,  each  drawing  down  with 
all  his  might,  while  others  within  were  employed  to  fasten 
the  glue.  How  they  had  bent  it  down,  I  had  not  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing,  but  that  it  was  held  down  by  main  strength, 
I  easily  proved  by  disturbing  a  part  of  them,  on  which  the 
leaf,  bursting  from  the  rest,  returned  to  its  natural  situation, 
and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  with  my  finger  the 
strength  that  these  little  animals  must  have  used  to  get  it 
down.  But  industrious  as  they  are,  their  courage,  if  possible, 
excels  their  industry ;  if  we  accidentally  shook  the  branches 
on  which  such  a  nest  was  hung,  thousands  would  immedi- 
ately throw  themselves  down,  many  of  which  falling  upon 
us  made  us  sensible  of  their  stings  and  revengeful  disposi- 
tions, especially  if,  as  was  often  the  case,  they  got  possession 
of  our  necks  and  hair.  Their  stings  were  by  some  esteemed 
not  much  less  painful  than  those  of  a  bee ;  the  pain,  how- 
ever, lasted  only  a  few  seconds. 


304  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND       CH.  xm 

Another  sort  there  were,  quite  black,  whose  manner  of 
living  was  most  extraordinary.  They  inhabited  the  inside 
of  the  branches  of  one  sort  of  tree,  the  pith  of  which  they 
hollowed  out  almost  to  the  very  end  of  the  branches, 
nevertheless  the  tree  flourished  as  well  to  all  appearance 
as  if  no  such  accident  had  happened  to  it.  When  first  we 
found  the  tree,  we  of  course  gathered  the  branches,  and  were 
surprised  to  find  our  hands  instantly  covered  with  legions  of 
these  small  animals,  who  stung  most  intolerably  ;  experience, 
however,  taught  us  to  be  more  careful  for  the  future. 
Eumphius  mentions  a  similar  instance  to  this  in  his 
Herbarium  Amboinense,  vol.  ii.  p.  257;  his  tree,  however, 
does  not  at  all  resemble  ours. 

A  third  sort  nested  inside  the  root  of  a  plant  which 
grew  upon  the  bark  of  trees  in  the  same  manner  as  mistletoe.1 
The  root  was  the  size  of  a  large  turnip,  and  often  much 
larger ;  when  cut,  the  inside  showed  innumerable  winding 
passages  in  which  these  animals  lived.  The  plant  itself 
throve  to  all  appearance  not  a  bit  the  worse  for  its  numer- 
ous inhabitants.  Several  hundreds  have  I  seen,  and  never 
one  but  what  was  inhabited ;  though  some  were  so  young  as 
not  to  be  much  larger  than  a  hazel  nut.  The  ants  them- 
selves were  very  small,  not  above  half  as  large  as  our  red 
ants  in  England ;  they  sting  indeed,  but  so  little  that  it  was 
scarcely  felt.  The  chief  inconvenience  in  handling  the  roots 
came  from  the  infinite  number ;  myriads  would  come  in  an 
instant  out  of  many  holes,  and  running  over  the  hand  tickle 
so  as  to  be  scarcely  endurable.  Rumphius  has  an  account 
of  this  very  bulb  and  its  ants  in  vol.  vi.  p.  120,  where  he 
describes  also  another  sort,  the  ants  of  which  are  black. 

The  fourth  kind  were  perfectly  harmless,  at  least 
they  proved  so  to  us,  though  they  resembled  almost 
exactly  the  white  ants  of  the  East  Indies,  the  most 
mischievous  insect  I  believe  known  in  the  world.  Their 
architecture  was,  however,  far  superior  to  that  of  any  other 
species.  They  had  two  kinds  of  houses,  one  suspended  on 
the  branches  of  trees,  the  other  standing  upright  on  the 

1  Species  of  Myrmecodia  or  Hydnophytum. 


1770  ANTS'  NESTS  305 

ground.  The  first  sort  were  generally  three  or  four  times 
as  large  as  a  man's  head ;  they  were  built  of  a  brittle 
substance,  seemingly  made  of  small  parts  of  vegetables 
kneaded  together  with  some  glutinous  matter,  probably 
afforded  by  themselves.  On  breaking  this  outer  crust  in- 
numerable cells  appeared,  full  of  inhabitants,  winding  in  all 
directions,  communicating  with  each  other,  as  well  as  with 
divers  doors  which  led  from  the  nest.  From  each  of  these 
an  arched  passage  led  to  different  parts  of  the  tree,  and 
generally  one  large  one  to  the  ground.  This  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  communicated  with  the  other  kind  of  house,  for 
as  the  animals  inhabiting  both  were  precisely  the  same,  I 
see  no  reason  why  they  should  be  supposed,  contrary  to 
every  instance  that  I  know  in  nature,  to  build  two  different 
kinds  of  houses,  unless,  according  to  the  season,  prey,  etc., 
they  inhabited  both  equally. 

This  second  kind  of  house  was  very  often  built  near  the 
foot  of  a  tree,  on  the  bark  of  which  their  covered  ways, 
though  but  seldom  the  first  kind  of  house,  were  always  to 
be  found.  It  was  formed  like  an  irregularly  sided  cone,  and 
was  sometimes  more  than  six  feet  high,  and  nearly  as  much 
in  diameter.  The  smaller  ones  were  generally  flat-sided, 
and  resembled  very  much  the  old  stones  which  are  seen  in 
many  parts  of  England,  and  supposed  to  be  remains  of 
Druidical  worship.  The  outer  coat  of  these  was  2  inches 
thick  at  least,  of  hard,  well-tempered  clay,  under  which  were 
their  cells ;  to  these  no  doors  were  to  be  seen.  All  their 
passages  were  underground,  where  probably  they  were 
carried  on  till  they  met  the  root  of  some  tree,  up  which  they 
ascended,  and  so  up  the  trunks  and  branches  by  the  covered 
way  before  mentioned.  These  I  should  suppose  to  be  the 
houses  to  which  they  retire  in  the  winter  season,  as  they  are 
undoubtedly  able  to  defend  them  from  any  rain  that  can 
fall,  while  the  others,  though  generally  built  under  the 
shelter  of  some  overhanging  branch,  must,  from  the  thinness 
of  the  covering,  be  but  a  slight  defence  against  a  heavy  rain. 

Thus  much  for  the  ants,  an  industrious  race  which  in  all 
countries  have  for  that  reason  been  admired  by  man,  though 

x 


306  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

probably  in  no  country  more  admirable  than  in  this.  The 
few  observations  I  have  written  down  concerning  them  are 
chiefly  from  conjecture,  and  therefore  are  not  at  all  to  be 
depended  upon.  Were  any  man,  however,  to  settle  here 
who  had  time  and  inclination  to  observe  their  economy,  I 
am  convinced  that  it  would  far  exceed  that  of  any  insects 
we  know,  not  excepting  our  much-admired  bees. 

The  sea,  however,  made  some  amends  for  the  barren- 
ness of  the  land.  Fish,  though  not  so  plentiful  as  they 
generally  are  in  the  higher  latitudes,  were  far  from  scarce  ; 
when  we  had  an  opportunity  of  hauling  the  seine  we 
generally  caught  from  50  to  200  Ibs.  of  fish  in  a  tide.  The 
kinds  were  various,  none  I  think  but  mullets  being  known  in 
Europe.  In  general,  however,  they  were  sufficiently  palat- 
able, and  some  very  delicate  food.  The  sting-rays,  indeed, 
which  were  caught  on  the  southern  part  of  the  coast  were 
very  coarse ;  so  that,  as  little  else  was  caught  there,  we 
were  obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  the  comforts  of  plenty, 
and  enjoy  more  pleasure  in  satiety  than  in  eating.  To  the 
northward  again,  when  we  were  entangled  within  the  great 
reef,  was  a  quantity  of  turtle  hardly  to  be  credited,  every 
shoal  swarmed  with  them.  The  weather  indeed  was  gener- 
ally so  boisterous,  that  our  boats  could  not  row  after  them 
as  fast  as  they  could  swim,  so  that  we  got  but  few ;  but 
they  were  excellent,  and  so  large  that  a  single  turtle  always 
served  for  the  whole  ship.  Had  we  been  there  either  at 
the  time  of  laying  or  in  a  more  moderate  season,  we  might 
doubtless  have  taken  any  quantity.  All  the  shoals  that 
were  dry  at  half  ebb  afforded  plenty  of  fish,  left  dry  in 
small  hollows  of  the  rocks,  and  a  profusion  of  large  shell-fish 
(Chama  gig  as)  such  as  Dampier  describes,  vol.  iii.  p.  191. 
The  largest  of  these  had  ten  or  fifteen  pounds  of  meat 
in  them;  it  was  indeed  rather  strong,  but  I  believe  a 
very  wholesome  food,  and  well  relished  by  the  people  in 
general.  On  different  parts  of  the  coast  were  also  found 
oysters,  which  were  said  to  be  very  well  tasted ;  the  shells 
also  of  good-sized  lobsters  and  crabs  were  seen,  but  these  it 
was  never  our  fortune  to  catch. 


1770  SCARCITY  OF  INHABITANTS  307 

Upon  the  whole,  New  Holland,  though  in  every  respect 
the  most  barren  country  I  have  seen,  is  not  so  bad  but  that 
between  the  productions  of  sea  and  land,  a  company  who 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  shipwrecked  upon  it  might  support 
themselves,  even  by  the  resources  that  we  have  seen :  un- 
doubtedly a  longer  stay  and  a  visit  to  different  parts  would 
discover  many  more. 

This  immense  tract  of  land,  the  largest  known  which 
does  not  bear  the  name  of  a  continent,  as  it  is  considerably 
larger  than  all  Europe,  is  thinly  inhabited,  even  to  admira- 
tion, at  least  that  part  of  it  that  we  saw.  We  never  but 
once  saw  so  many  as  thirty  Indians  together,  and  that  was 
a  family,  men,  women,  and  children,  assembled  upon  a  rock 
to  see  the  ship  pass  by.  At  Sting-ray's  Bay,1  where  they 
evidently  came  down  several  times  to  fight  us,  they  never 
could  muster  above  fourteen  or  fifteen  fighting  men,  indeed 
in  other  places  they  generally  ran  away  from  us,  whence  it 
might  be  concluded  that  there  were  greater  numbers  than 
we  saw,  but  their  houses  and  sheds  in  the  woods,  which  we 
never  failed  to  find,  convinced  us  of  the  smallness  of  their 
parties.  We  saw,  indeed,  only  the  sea  coast;  what  the 
immense  tract  of  inland  country  may  produce  is  to  us 
totally  unknown.  We  may  have  liberty  to  conjecture,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  totally  uninhabited.  The  sea  has,  I 
believe,  been  universally  found  to  be  the  chief  source  of 
supplies  to  Indians  ignorant  of  the  arts  of  cultivation.  The 
wild  produce  of  the  land  alone  seems  scarcely  able  to 
support  them  at  all  seasons,  at  least  I  do  not  remember  to 
have  read  of  any  inland  nation  who  did  not  cultivate  the 
ground  more  or  less :  even  the  North  Americans,  who  are 
so  well  versed  in  hunting,  sow  their  maize.  But  should 
a  people  live  inland,  who  supported  themselves  by  cultiva- 
tion, these  inhabitants  of  the  sea  coast  must  certainly  have 
learned  to  imitate  them  in  some  degree  at  least,  otherwise 
their  reason  must  be  supposed  to  hold  a  rank  little  superior 
to  that  of  monkeys. 

What  may  be  the  reason  of  this  absence  of  people  is 

1  Afterwards  called  Botany  Bay. 


308  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW   HOLLAND       CH.  xm 

difficult  to  guess,  unless  it  be  the  barrenness  of  the  soil  and 
the  scarcity  of  fresh  water.  But  why  should  not  mankind 
increase  here  as  fast  as  in  other  places,  unless  their  small 
tribes  have  frequent  wars  in  which  many  are  destroyed  ? 
They  were  indeed  generally  furnished  with  plenty  of 
weapons,  whose  points  of  the  stings  of  sting-rays  seemed 
intended  for  use  against  none  but  their  own  species. 

That  their  customs  are  nearly  the  same  throughout  the 
whole  length  of  the  coast  along  which  we  sailed,  I  should 
think  very  probable,  though  we  had  connections  with  them 
at  only  one  place.  Yet  we  saw  them  with  our  eyes  or 
glasses  many  times,  and  at  Sting -ray's  Bay  had  some 
experience  of  their  manners.  Their  colour,  arms,  and 
method  of  using  them  were  the  same  as  those  we  after- 
wards had  a  nearer  view  of.  They  likewise  in  the  same 
manner  went  naked,  and  painted  themselves,  their  houses 
were  the  same,  they  notched  large  trees  in  the  same  manner, 
and  even  the  bags  they  carried  their  furniture  in  were  of 
exactly  the  same  manufacture,  something  between  netting 
and  knitting,  which  I  have  nowhere  else  seen.  In  the 
intermediate  places  our  glasses  might  deceive  us  in  many 
things,  but  their  colour  and  want  of  clothes  we  certainly 
did  see,  and  whenever  we  came  ashore  the  houses  and  sheds, 
places  where  they  had  dressed  victuals  with  heated  stones, 
and  trees  notched  for  the  convenience  of  climbing  them, 
sufficiently  evinced  them  to  be  the  same  people. 

The  tribe  with  which  we  had  connections  consisted  of 
twenty-one  people,  twelve  men,  seven  women,  a  boy  and  a 
girl ;  so  many  at  least  we  saw,  and  there  might  have  been 
more,  especially  women,  whom  we  did  not  see.  The  men 
were  remarkably  short  and  slenderly  built  in  proportion ; 
the  tallest  we  measured  was  5  feet  9  inches,  the 
shortest  5  feet  2  inches ;  the  average  height  seemed  to 
be  about  5  feet  6  inches.  What  their  absolute  colour 
is,  is  difficult  to  say,  they  were  so  completely  covered  with 
dirt,  which  seemed  to  have  stuck  to  their  hides  from  the 
day  of  their  birth,  without  their  once  having  attempted  to 
remove  it.  I  tried  indeed  by  spitting  upon  my  finger  and 


1770  DESCRIPTION  OF  NATIVES  309 

rubbing,  but  altered  the  colour  very  little,  which  as  nearly 
as  might  be  resembled  chocolate.  The  beards  of  several 
were  bushy  and  thick ;  their  hair,  which  as  well  as  their 
beards  was  black,  they  wore  close  cropped  round  their  ears. 
In  some  it  was  as  lank  as  an  European's,  in  others  a  little 
crisped,  as  is  common  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  but  in  none 
of  them  at  all  resembling  the  wool  of  the  negroes.  They 
had  also  all  their  fore  teeth,  in  which  two  points  they  differ 
chiefly  from  those  seen  by  Dampier,  supposing  him  not  to 
be  mistaken.  As  for  colour  they  would  undoubtedly  be 
called  black  by  any  one  not  used  to  consider  attentively 
the  colours  of  different  nations.  I  myself  should  never 
have  thought  of  such  distinctions,  had  I  not  seen  the 
effect  of  sun  and  wind  upon  the  natives  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  where  many  of  the  better  sort  of  people,  who  keep 
themselves  close  at  home,  are  nearly  as  white  as  Europeans ; 
while  the  poorer  sort,  obliged  in  their  business  of  fishing, 
etc.,  to  expose  their  naked  bodies  to  all  the  inclemencies  of 
the  climate,  are  in  some  cases  but  little  lighter  than  the 
New  Hollanders.  They  were  all  to  a  man  lean  and  clean- 
limbed, and  seemed  very  light  and  active.  Their  counte- 
nances were  not  without  some  expression,  though  I  cannot 
charge  them  with  much,  their  voices  in  general  shrill  and 
effeminate. 

Of  clothes  they  had  not  the  least  part,  but  were  naked 
as  ever  our  general  father  was  before  his  fall,  whether  from 
idleness  or  want  of  invention  is  difficult  to  say.  In  the 
article  of  ornaments,  however,  useless  as  they  are,  neither 
has  the  one  hindered  them  from  contriving,  nor  the  other 
from  making  them.  Of  these  the  chief,  and  that  on  which 
they  seem  to  set  the  greatest  value,  is  a  bone  5  or  6  inches 
in  length,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  which  they  thrust 
into  a  hole  bored  through  that  part  which  divides  the  nostrils, 
so  that  it  sticks  across  the  face,  making  in  the  eyes  of 
Europeans  a  most  ludicrous  appearance,  though  no  doubt 
they  esteem  even  this  as  an  addition  to  their  beauty,  which 
they  purchase  by  hourly  inconvenience ;  for  when  this  bone 
was  in  its  place,  or,  as  our  seamen  termed  it,  when  their 


310  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

spritsail-yard  was  rigged  across,  it  completely  stopped  up  both 
nostrils,  so  that  they  spoke  in  the  nose  in  a  manner  one 
would  think  scarcely  intelligible.  Besides  these  extraordinary 
bones,  they  had  necklaces  of  shells  neatly  cut  and  strung 
together ;  bracelets  also,  if  one  may  call  by  that  name  four  or 
five  rings  of  small  cord  worn  round  the  upper  part  of  the 
arm  ;  and  a  belt  or  string  tied  round  the  waist  about  as  thick 
as  worsted  yarn,  which  last  was  frequently  made  of  either 
human  hair  or  that  of  the  beast  called  by  them  kangooroo. 

They  paint  themselves  with  red  and  white.  The 
former  they  commonly  lay  on  in  broad  patches  on  their 
shoulders  or  breasts ;  the  white  in  strips,  some  of  which  are 
narrow  and  confined  to  small  parts  of  their  bodies,  others 
broad  and  carried  with  some  degree  of  taste  across 
their  bodies,  round  their  legs  and  arms,  etc.  They  also  lay 
it  on  in  circles  round  their  eyes,  and  in  patches  in  different 
parts  of  their  faces.  The  red  seems  to  be  red  ochre,  but 
what  the  white  was  we  could  not  find  out,  it  was  heavy 
and  close-grained,  almost  as  white  lead,  and  had  a  sapon- 
aceous feel ;  possibly  it  might  be  a  kind  of  steatite.  We 
lamented  not  being  able  to  procure  a  bit  to  examine. 

These  people  seemed  to  have  no  idea  of  traffic,  nor  could 
we  teach  them ;  indeed,  it  seemed  that  we  had  no  one  thing 
upon  which  they  set  a  value  sufficient  to  induce  them  to  part 
with  the  smallest  trifle,  except  one  fish  which  weighed  about 
half  a  pound.  That  they  brought  as  a  kind  of  peace  token. 
No  one  in  the  ship  procured,  I  believe,  from  them  the 
smallest  article ;  they  readily  received  the  things  we  gave 
them,  but  never  would  understand  our  signs,  when  we 
asked  for  returns.  This,  however,  must  not  be  forgotten, 
that  whatever  opportunities  they  had  they  never  once 
attempted  to  take  anything  in  a  clandestine  manner ;  what- 
ever they  wanted  they  openly  asked  for,  and  in  almost  all 
cases  bore  the  refusal,  if  they  met  with  one,  with  much 
indifference,  except  in  the  case  of  turtles. 

Dirty  as  these  people  are,  they  seem  to  be  entirely  free 
from  lice,  a  circumstance  rarely  observed  among  the  most 
cleanly  Indians,  and  which  is  here  the  more  remarkable,  as 


1770  NATIVE  HABITS  311 

their  hair  was  generally  matted,  and  filthy  enough.  In  all 
of  them,  indeed,  it  was  very  thin,  and  seemed  as  if  seldom 
disturbed  by  the  combing  even  of  their  fingers,  much  less  to 
have  any  oil  or  grease  put  into  it.  Nor  did  the  custom  of 
oiling  their  bodies,  so  common  among  most  uncivilised 
nations,  seem  to  have  the  least  footing  here. 

On  their  bodies  we  observed  very  few  marks  of  cutaneous 
disorders,  such  as  scurf,  scars  of  sores,  etc.  Their  spare  thin 
bodies  indicate  a  temperance  in  eating,  the  consequence 
either  of  necessity  or  inclination,  equally  productive  of 
health,  particularly  in  this  respect.  On  the  fleshy  parts  of 
their  arms  and  thighs,  and  some  of  their  sides,  were  large 
scars  in  regular  lines,  which  by  their  breadth  and  the  con- 
vexity with  which  they  had  healed,  showed  plainly  that 
they  had  been  made  by  deep  cuts  of  some  blunt  instrument, 
possibly  a  shell  or  the  edge  of  a  broken  stone.  These,  as 
far  as  we  could  understand  the  signs  they  made  use  of, 
were  the  marks  of  their  lamentations  for  the  deceased, 
in  honour  of  whose  memory,  or  to  show  the  excess  of  their 
grief,  they  had  in  this  manner  wept  in  blood. 

For  food  they  seemed  to  depend  very  much,  though  not 
entirely,  upon  the  sea.  Fish  of  all  kinds,  turtle,  and  even 
crabs,  they  strike  with  their  lances  very  dexterously.  These 
are  generally  bearded  with  broad  beards,  and  their  points 
smeared  over  with  a  kind  of  hard  resin,  which  makes  them 
pierce  a  hard  body  far  more  easily  than  they  would  without  it. 
In  the  southern  parts  these  fish-spears  had  four  prongs, 
and  besides  the  resin  were  pointed  with  the  sharp  bone  of  a 
fish.  To  the  northward  their  spears  had  only  one  point, 
yet  both,  I  believe,  struck  fish  with  equal  dexterity.  For  the 
northern  ones  I  can  witness,  who  several  times  saw  them 
through  a  glass  throw  a  spear  from  ten  to  twenty  yards,  and 
generally  succeed.  To  the  southward  again  the  quantity  of 
fish  bones  we  saw  near  their  fires  proved  them  to  be  no 
indifferent  artists. 

In  striking  turtle  they  use  a  peg  of  wood  well  bearded, 
and  about  a  foot  long ;  this  fastens  into  the  socket  of  a  staff 
of  light  wood  as  thick  as  a  man's  wrist,  and  eight  or  nine 


3i2  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

feet  long,  besides  which  it  is  tied  to  a  loose  line  of  three  or 
four  fathoms.  The  use  of  this  is  undoubtedly  to  enable  the 
staff  to  serve  as  a  float  to  show  where  the  turtle  is  when 
struck,  as  well  as  to  assist  in  tiring  it  till  they  can  with 
their  canoes  overtake  and  haul  it  in.  That  they  throw  this 
dart  with  great  force  we  had  occasion  to  observe  while  we 
lay  in  Endeavour's  river,  where  a  turtle  which  we  killed  had 
one  of  these  pegs  entirely  buried  in  his  body  just  across  its 
breast ;  it  seemed  to  have  entered  at  the  soft  place  where 
the  fore-fin  works,  but  not  the  least  outward  mark  of  the 
wound  remained. 

We  saw  near  their  fire-places  plentiful  remains  of  lobsters, 
shell-fish  of  all  kinds,  and  to  the  southward  the  skins  of 
those  sea  animals  which,  from  their  property  of  spouting  out 
water  when  touched,  are  commonly  called  sea  -  squirts. 
These  last,  however  disgustful  they  may  seem  to  an  European 
palate,  we  found  to  contain,  under  a  coat  as  tough  as  leather, 
a  substance  like  the  guts  of  a  shell-fish,  of  a  taste,  though 
not  equal  to  an  oyster,  yet  by  no  means  to  be  despised  by 
a  hungry  man. 

Of  land  animals  they  probably  eat  every  kind  that  they 
can  kill,  which  probably  does  not  amount  to  any  large 
number,  every  species  being  here  shy  and  cautious  in  a  high 
degree.  The  only  vegetables  which  we  saw  them  use  were 
yams  of  two  sorts,  the  one  long  and  like  a  finger,  the  other 
round  and  covered  with  stringy  roots ;  both  sorts  very 
small  but  sweet.  They  were  so  scarce  where  we  were  that 
we  never  could  find  the  plants  that  produced  them,  though 
we  often  saw  the  places  where  they  had  been  dug  up  by 
the  Indians  very  recently.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  dry 
season,  which  was  at  its  height  when  we  were  there,  had 
destroyed  the  leaves  of  the  plants,  so  that  we  had  no  guide, 
while  the  Indians,  knowing  well  the  stalks,  might  find  them 
easily.  Whether  they  knew  or  ever  made  use  of  the  cocos, 
I  cannot  tell ;  the  immense  sharpness  of  every  part  of  this 
vegetable  before  it  is  dressed  makes  it  probable  that  any 
people  who  have  not  learned  the  uses  of  it  from  others  may 
remain  for  ever  ignorant  of  them.  Near  their  fires  were 


1770  FOOD-PLANTS  313 

great  abundance  of  the  shells  of  a  kind  of  fruit  resembling  a 
pine-apple,  though  its  taste  was  disagreeable  enough.  It  is 
common  to  all  the  East  Indies,  and  called  by  the  Dutch 
Pyn  appel  Boomen  (Pandanus).  We  found  also  the  fruits 
of  a  low  palm *  called  by  the  Dutch  Moeskruidige  Callapus 
(Cycas  circinalis),  which  they  certainly  eat,  though  this  fruit  is 
so  unwholesome  that  some  of  our  people,  who,  though  fore- 
warned, followed  their  example  and  ate  one  or  two  of  them, 
were  violently  affected  by  them ;  and  our  hogs,  whose  con- 
stitutions we  thought  might  be  as  strong  as  those  of  the 
Indians,  literally  died  after  having  eaten  them.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  these  people  have  some  method  of 
preparing  them  by  which  their  poisonous  quality  is  destroyed, 
as  the  inhabitants  of  the  East  Indian  Isles  are  said  to  do  by 
boiling  them,  steeping  them  twenty-four  hours  in  water, 
then  drying  them,  and  using  them  to  thicken  broth,  from 
whence  it  would  seem  that  the  poisonous  quality  lies  entirely 
in  the  juices,  as  it  does  in  the  roots  of  the  mandihoca  or 
cassada  of  the  West  Indies,  and  that  when  thoroughly 
cleared  of  them,  the  pulp  remaining  may  be  a  wholesome 
and  nutritious  food. 

Their  victuals  they  generally  dress  by  broiling  or  toasting 
them  upon  the  coals,  so  we  judged  by  the  remains  we  saw ; 
they  understood,  however,  the  method  of  baking  or  stewing 
with  hot  stones,  and  sometimes  practised  it,  as  we  now  and 
then  saw  the  pits  and  burned  stones  which  had  been  used 
for  that  purpose. 

We  observed  that  some,  though  but  few,  held  constantly 
in  their  mouths  the  leaves  of  a  herb  which  they  chewed  as 
a  European  does  tobacco,  or  an  East  Indian  betel ;  what  sort 
of  a  plant  it  was  we  had  no  opportunity  of  learning,  as  we 
never  saw  anything  but  the  chaws,  which  they  took  from 
their  mouth  to  show  us.  It  might  be  of  the  betel  kind, 
and  so  far  as  we  could  judge  from  the  fragments  was  so ; 
but  whatever  it  was,  it  was  used  without  any  addition,  and 
seemed  to  have  no  kind  of  effect  upon  either  the  teeth  or 
lips  of  those  who  used  it. 

1  Cycas  media,  Br.,  closely  allied  to  0.  circinalis.     See  pp.  299  and  421. 


3M  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

Naked  as  these  people  are  when  abroad,  they  are  scarcely 
at  all  better  defended  from  the  injuries  of  the  weather  when 
at  home ;  if  that  name  can  with  propriety  be  given  to 
their  houses,  as  I  believe  they  never  make  any  stay  in  them, 
but  wandering  like  the  Arabs  from  place  to  place,  set  them 
up  whenever  they  meet  with  a  spot  where  sufficient  supplies 
of  food  are  to  be  met  with.  As  soon  as  these  are  exhausted 
they  remove  to  another,  leaving  the  houses  behind,  which 
are  framed  probably  with  less  art,  or  rather  less  industry, 
than  any  habitations  of  human  beings  that  the  world  can  show. 
At  Sting-ray's  Bay,  where  they  were  the  best,  each  was 
capable  of  containing  within  it  four  or  five  people,  but  not 
one  of  all  these  could  extend  himself  Jiis  whole  length  in 
any  direction ;  he  might  just  sit  upright,  but  if  inclined  to 
sleep,  must  coil  himself  up  in  some  crooked  position,  as  the 
dimensions  were  in  no  direction  enough  to  receive  him 
otherwise.  They  were  built  in  the  form  of  an  oven,  of 
pliable  rods  about  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  the  ends  of 
>  which  were  stuck  into  the  ground,  and  the  whole  covered 
with  palm  leaves  and  broad  pieces  of  bark.  The  door  was  a 
fairly  large  hole  at  one  end,  opposite  to  which  there  seemed 
from  the  ashes  to  be  a  fire  kept  pretty  constantly.  To  the 
northward,  where  the  warmth  of  the  climate  made  houses  less 
necessary,  they  were  in  proportion  still  more  slight :  a  house 
there  was  nothing  but  a  hollow  shelter  about  three  or  four 
feet  deep,  built  like  the  former,  and  like  them  covered  with 
bark.  One  side  of  this  was  entirely  open  ;  it  was  always  the 
side  sheltered  from  the  course  of  the  prevailing  wind,  and 
opposite  to  this  door  was  always  a  heap  of  ashes,  the  remains 
of  a  fire,  probably  more  necessary  to  defend  them  from 
mosquitos  than  cold.  In  these  it  is  probable  that  they  only 
sought  to  protect  their  heads  and  the  upper  part  of  their 
bodies  from  the  draught  of  air,  trusting  their  feet  to  the 
care  of  the  fire.  So  small  they  were  that  even  in  this 
manner  not  above  three  or  four  people  could  possibly  crowd 
into  them,  but  small  as  the  trouble  of  erecting  such  houses 
must  be,  they  did  not  always  do  it :  we  saw  many  places  in 
the  woods  where  they  had  slept  with  no  other  shelter  than 


1770  HUTS  AND  FURNITURE  315 

a  few  bushes  and  grass  a  foot  or  two  high  to  shelter  them 
from  the  wind  This  probably  is  their  custom  while  they 
travel  from  place  to  place,  and  sleep  upon  the  road,  in 
situations  where  they  do  not  intend  to  make  any  stay. 

The  only  furniture  belonging  to  these  houses,  that  we 
saw  at  least,  was  oblong  vessels  of  bark  made  by  the  simple 
contrivance  of  tying  up  the  ends  of  a  longish  piece  with  a 
withe,  which  not  being  cut  off  serves  for  a  handle :  these 
we  imagined  served  as  buckets  to  fetch  water  from  the 
springs,  which  may  sometimes  be  distant.  We  have  reason  to 
suppose  that  when  they  travel  these  are  carried  by  the  women 
from  place  to  place  ;  indeed,  during  the  few  opportunities  we 
had  of  seeing  the  women  they  were  generally  employed  in 
some  laborious  occupation,  as  fetching  wood,  gathering  shell- 
fish, etc.  The  men,  again,  maybe  constantly  carry  their 
arms  in  their  hands,  three  or  four  lances  in  the  one,  and 
the  machine  with  which  they  throw  them  in  the  other. 
These  serve  the  double  object  of  defending  them  from  their 
enemies  and  striking  any  animal  or  fish  they  may  meet 
with.  Each  has  also  a  small  bag  about  the  size  of  a 
moderate  cabbage -net  hanging  loose  upon  his  back  and 
fastened  to  a  small  string  which  passes  over  the  crown  of 
his  head.  This  seems  to  contain  all  their  earthly  treasures  : 
a  lump  or  two  of  paint,  some  fish-hooks  and  lines,  shells 
to  make  the  fish-hooks  of,  points  of  darts,  resin,  and  their 
usual  ornaments,  were  the  general  contents. 

Thus  live  these,  I  had  almost  said  happy,  people,  content 
with  little,  nay,  almost  nothing ;  far  enough  removed  from 
the  anxieties  attending  upon  riches,  or  even  the  possession 
of  what  we  Europeans  call  common  necessaries :  anxieties 
intended,  maybe,  by  Providence  to  counterbalance  the 
pleasure  arising  from  the  possession  of  wished-for  attain- 
ments consequently  increasing  with  increasing  wealth,  and  in 
some  measure  keeping  up  the  balance  of  happiness  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor.  From  them  appear  how  small  are 
the  real  wants  of  human  nature,  which  we  Europeans  have 
increased  to  an  excess  which  would  certainly  appear  incredible 
to  these  people  could  they  be  told  it ;  nor  shall  we  cease  to 


316  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

increase  them  as  long  as  luxuries  can  be  invented  and  riches 
found  for  the  purchase  of  them.  How  soon  these  luxuries 
degenerate  into  necessaries  may  be  sufficiently  evinced  by 
the  universal  use  of  strong  liquors,  tobacco,  spices,  tea,  etc. 
In  this  instance,  again,  Providence  seems  to  act  the  part  of 
a  leveller,  doing  much  towards  putting  all  ranks  into  an 
equal  state  of  wants,  and  consequently  of  real  poverty :  the 
great  and  magnificent  want  as  much,  and  maybe  more,  than 
the  middle  classes :  they  again  in  proportion  more  than  the 
inferior,  each  rank  looking  higher  than  its  station,  but  confin- 
ing itself  to  a  certain  point  above  which  it  knows  not  how 
to  wish,  not  knowing  at  least  perfectly  what  is  there 
enjoyed. 

Tools  among  these  people  we  saw  almost  none,  indeed, 
having  no  arts  which  require  any,  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  they  should  have  many.  A  stone  sharpened  at  the  edge 
and  a  wooden  mallet  were  the  only  ones  that  we  saw  formed 
by  art :  the  use  of  these  we  supposed  to  be  to  make  the 
notches  in  the  bark  of  high  trees  by  which  they  climb  them 
for  purposes  unknown  to  us ;  and  for  cutting  and  perhaps 
driving  in  wedges  to  take  off  the  bark  which  they  must 
have  in  large  pieces  for  making  canoes,  shields,  and  water- 
buckets,  and  also  for  covering  their  houses.  Besides  these 
they  use  shells  and  corals  to  scrape  the  points  of  their 
darts,  and  polish  them  with  the  leaves  of  a  kind  of  wild 
fig -tree  (Ficus  radula),  which  bites  upon  wood  almost  as 
keenly  as  our  European  shave-grass,  used  by  the  joiners. 
Their  fish-hooks  are  very  neatly  made  of  shell,  and  some 
are  exceedingly  small :  their  lines  are  also  well  twisted,  and 
they  have  them  from  the  size  of  a  half-inch  rope  to  almost 
the  fineness  of  a  hair,  made  of  some  vegetable. 

Of  netting  they  seem  to  be  quite  ignorant,  but  make 
their  bags,  the  only  thing  of  the  kind  we  saw  among  them, 
by  laying  the  threads  loop  within  loop,  something  like 
knitting,  only  very  coarse  and  open,  in  the  very  same 
manner  as  I  have  seen  ladies  make  purses  in  England. 
That  they  had  no  sharp  instruments  among  them  we 
ventured  to  guess  from  the  circumstance  of  an  old  man 


1770  METHOD  OF  OBTAINING  FIRE  317 

coming  to  us  one  day  with  a  beard  rather  longer  than  his 
fellows :  the  next  day  he  came  again,  and  his  beard  was 
then  almost  cropped  close  to  his  chin,  and  upon  examination 
we  found  the  ends  of  the  hairs  all  burned,  so  that  he  had 
certainly  singed  it  off.  Their  manner  of  hunting  and  taking 
wild  animals  we  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing;  we  only  guessed 
that  the  notches  which  they  had  everywhere  cut  in  the  bark 
of  the  large  trees,  which  certainly  seems  to  make  climbing 
more  easy  to  them,  might  be  intended  to  allow  them  to 
ascend  these  trees  in  order  either  to  watch  for  any  animal 
unwarily  passing  under  them  which  they  might  pierce  with 
their  darts,  or  to  take  birds  which  might  roost  in  them  at 
night.  We  guessed  also  that  the  fires  which  we  saw  so 
frequently  as  we  passed  along  shore,  extending  over  a  large 
tract  of  country,  and  by  which  we  could  constantly  trace 
the  passage  of  Indians  who  went  from  us  in  Endeavour's 
river  up  into  the  country,  were  intended  in  some  way  or 
other  for  taking  the  animal  called  by  them  kangooroo, 
which  we  found  to  be  so  much  afraid  of  fire  that  we  could 
hardly  force  it  with  our  dogs  to  go  over  places  newly 
burnt. 

They  get  fire  very  expeditiously  with  two  pieces  of  stick  : 
the  one  must  be  round  and  eight  or  nine  inches  long,  and 
both  it  and  the  other  should  be  dry  and  soft :  the  round 
they  sharpen  a  little  at  one  end,  and  pressing  it  upon  the 
other  turn  it  round  with  the  palms  of  their  hand,  just  as 
Europeans  do  a  chocolate-mill,  often  shifting  their  hands  up 
and  running  them  down  quickly  to  make  the  pressure  as 
hard  as  possible :  in  this  manner  they  will  get  fire  in  less 
than  two  minutes,  and  when  once  possessed  of  the  smallest 
spark  increase  it  in  a  manner  truly  wonderful.  We  often 
admired  a  man  running  along  shore  and  apparently  carrying 
nothing  in  his  hand,  yet  as  he  ran  along  just  stooping  down 
every  50  or  100  yards ;  smoke  and  fire  were  seen  among 
the  drift-wood  and  dirt  at  that  place  almost  the  instant  he 
had  left  it.  This  we  afterwards  found  was  done  by  the 
infinite  readiness  every  kind  of  rubbish,  sticks,  withered 
leaves,  or  dry  grass,  already  almost  like  tinder  by  the  heat 


318  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

of  the  sun  and  dryness  of  the  season,  would  take  fire.  He 
took,  for  instance,  when  he  set  off  a  small  bit  of  fire,  and 
wrapping  it  up  in  dry  grass  ran  on :  this  soon  blazed ;  he 
then  laid  it  down  on  the  most  convenient  place  for  his 
purpose  that  he  could  find,  and  taking  up  a  small  part  of 
it,  wrapped  that  in  part  of  the  dry  rubbish  in  which  he  had 
laid  it,  proceeding  in  this  manner  as  long  as  he  thought 
proper. 

Their  weapons,  offensive  at  least,  were  precisely  the  same 
wherever  we  saw  them,  except  that  at  the  very  last  view 
we  had  of  the  country  we  saw  through  our  glasses  a  man 
who  carried  a  bow  and  arrows.  In  this  we  might  have 
been,  but  I  believe  were  not,  mistaken.  Their  weapons 
consisted  of  only  one  species,  a  pike  or  lance  from  eight  to 
fourteen  feet  long :  this  they  threw  short  distances  with 
their  hands,  and  longer  (forty  or  more  yards),  with  an 
instrument  made  for  the  purpose.  The  upper  part  of  these 
lances  was  made  either  of  cane  or  the  stalk  of  a  plant 
resembling  a  bulrush,1  which  was  very  straight  and  light : 
the  point  was  made  of  very  heavy  and  hard  wood,  the 
whole  artfully  balanced  for  throwing,  though  very  clumsily 
made,  in  two,  three,  or  four  joints,  at  each  of  which  the 
parts  were  let  into  each  other.  Besides  being  tied  round, 
the  joint  was  thickly  smeared  with  thin  resin,  which  made 
it  larger  and  more  clumsy  than  any  other  part.  The  points 
were  of  several  sorts :  those  which  we  concluded  to  be  in- 
tended to  be  used  against  men  were  most  cruel  weapons ;  they 
were  all  single  pointed,  either  with  the  stings  of  sting-rays, 
a  large  one  of  which  served  for  the  point  and  three  or  four 
smaller  ones  tied  the  contrary  way  for  barbs,  or  simply  of 
wood  made  very  sharp  and  smeared  over  with  resin,  into 
which  were  stuck  many  broken  bits  of  sharp  shells,  so  that 
if  such  a  weapon  pierced  a  man  it  could  scarcely  be  drawn 
out  without  leaving  several  of  those  unwelcome  guests  in 
his  flesh,  certain  to  make  the  wound  ten  times  more  difficult 
to  cure  than  it  otherwise  would  be.  Those  lances  which  we 
supposed  to  be  used  merely  for  striking  fish,  birds,  etc., 

1  Xanthorrhcea. 


i?7o  WEAPONS  319 

had  generally  simple  points  of  wood  ;  or  if  they  were  barbed, 
it  was  with  only  one  splinter  of  wood.  The  instrument 
with  which  they  threw  them  was  a  plain  stick  or  piece  of 
wood  2^  or  3  feet  in  length,  at  one  end  of  which  was  a 
small  knob  or  hook,  and  near  the  other  a  kind  of  cross-piece 

A 


to  hinder  it  from  slipping  out  of  their  hands.  With  this 
contrivance,  simple  as  it  is,  and  ill-fitted  for  that  purpose, 
they  throw  the  lances  forty  yards  or  more  with  a  swiftness 
and  steadiness  truly  surprising.  The  knob  being  hooked 
into  a  small  dent  made  in  the  top  of  the  lance,  they  hold 
it  over  their  shoulder,  and  shaking  it  an  instant,  as  if 
balancing  it,  throw  it  with  the  greatest  ease  imaginable. 
The  neatest  of  these  throwing  sticks  that  we  saw  was  made 
of  a  hard  reddish  wood,  polished  and  shining  :  the  sides  were 
flat  and  about  two  inches  in  breadth,  and  the  handle,  or  part 
to  keep  it  from  dropping  out  of  the  hand,  covered  with  thin 
layers  of  very  white  polished  bone.  These  I  believe  to  be 
the  things  which  many  of  our  people  were  deceived  by, 
imagining  them  to  be  wooden  swords,  clubs,  etc.,  according 
to  the  direction  in  which  they  happened  to  see  them. 
Defensive  weapons  we  saw  only  in  Sting-ray's  Bay  and  there 
only  a  single  instance:  a  man  who  attempted  to  oppose  our 
landing  came  down  to  the  beach  with  a  shield  of  an  oblong 
shape  about  3  feet  long  and  1|-  broad,  made  of  the  bark  of 
a  tree.  This  he  left  behind  when  he  ran  away,  and  we 
found  upon  taking  it  up  that  it  had  plainly  been  pierced 
through  with  a  single-pointed  lance  near  the  centre.  That 
such  shields  were  frequently  used  in  that  neighbourhood  we 
had,  however,  sufficient  proof,  often  seeing  upon  trees  the 
places  from  whence  they  had  been  cut,  and  sometimes  the 
shields  themselves  cut  out  but  not  yet  taken  from  the  tree, 
th'j  edges  of  the  bark  only  being  a  little  raised  with  wedges. 
This  shows  that  these  people  certainly  know  how  much 
thicker  and  stronger  bark  becomes  by  being  suffered  to 
remain  upon  the  tree  some  time  after  it  is  cut  round. 


320  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND      CH.  xm 

That  they  are  a  very  pusillanimous  people  we  had  reason 
to  suppose  from  their  conduct  in  every  place  where  we 
were,  except  at  Sting-ray's  Bay,  and  then  only  two  people 
opposed  the  landing  of  our  two  boats  full  of  men  for  nearly 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  were  not  to  be  driven  away  until 
several  times  wounded  with  small  shot,  which  we  were 
obliged  to  do,  as  at  that  time  we  suspected  their  lances  to 
be  poisoned,  from  the  quantity  of  gum  which  was  about 
their  points.  But  upon  every  other  occasion,  both  there 
and  everywhere  else,  they  behaved  alike,  shunning  us,  and 
giving  up  any  part  of  the  country  we  landed  upon  at  once. 
That  they  use  stratagems  in  war  we  learnt  by  the  instance 
in  Sting-ray's  Bay,  where  our  surgeon  with  another  man 
was  walking  in  the  woods  and  met  six  Indians :  they  stood 
still,  but  directed  another  who  was  up  a  tree  how  and  when 
he  should  throw  a  lance  at  them,  which  he  did,  and  on  its 
not  taking  effect  they  all  ran  away  as  fast  as  possible. 

Their  canoes  were  the  only  things  in  which  we  saw  a 
manifest  difference  between  the  southern  and  northern 
people.  Those  to  the  southward  were  little  better  contrived 
or  executed  than  their  houses ;  a  piece  of  bark  tied  together 
in  plaits  at  the  ends,  and  kept  extended  in  the  middle  by 
small  bows  of  wood,  was  the  whole  embarkation  which  carried 
one  or  two  people,  nay,  we  once  saw  three,  who  moved  it 
along  in  shallow  water  with  long  poles,  and  in  deeper  with 
paddles  about  eighteen  inches  long,  one  of  which  they  held 
in  each  hand.  In  the  middle  of  these  canoes  was  generally 
a  small  fire  upon  a  heap  of  seaweed,  for  what  purpose 
intended  we  did  not  know,  except  perhaps  to  give  the 
fisherman  an  opportunity  of  eating  fish  in  perfection,  by 
broiling  it  the  moment  it  is  taken.  To  the  northward  their 
canoes,  though  exceedingly  bad,  were  far  superior  to  these ; 
they  were  small,  but  regularly  hollowed  out  of  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  and  fitted  with  an  outrigger  to  prevent  them 
from  upsetting.  In  these  they  had  paddles  large  enough 
to  require  both  hands  to  work  them.  Of  this  sort  we  saw 
few,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  only  one  of  them, 
which  might  be  about  ten  or  eleven  feet  long,  but  was 


1770  CANOES  321 

extremely  narrow.  The  sides  of  the  tree  were  left  in  their 
natural  state  untouched  by  tools,  but  at  each  end  they  had 
cut  away  from  the  under  part,  and  left  part  of  the  upper 
side  overhanging.  The  inside  also  was  not  badly  hollowed, 
and  the  sides  tolerably  thin.  We  had  many  times  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  what  burthen  it  was  capable  of  carrying. 
Three  people,  or  at  most  four,  were  as  many  as  dare  venture 
in  it ;  and  if  any  others  wanted  to  cross  the  river,  which  in 
that  place  was  about  half  a  mile  broad,  one  of  these  would 
take  the  canoe  back  and  fetch  them. 

This  was  the  only  piece  of  workmanship  which  I  saw 
among  the  New  Hollanders  that  seemed  to  require  tools. 
How  they  had  hollowed  her  out  or  cut  the  ends  I  cannot 
guess,  but  upon  the  whole  the  work  was  not  ill  done. 
Indian  patience  might  do  a  good  deal  with  shells,  etc., 
without  the  use  of  stone  axes,  which,  if  they  had  them, 
they  would  probably  have  used  to  form  her  outside.  That 
such  a  canoe  takes  much  time  and  trouble  to  make  may  be 
concluded  from  our  seeing  so  few,  and  still  more  from  the 
moral  certainty  which  we  have  that  the  tribe  which  visited 
us,  consisting  to  our  knowledge  of  twenty-one  people,  and 
possibly  of  several  more,  had  only  one  such  belonging  to 
them.  How  tedious  it  must  be  for  these  people  to  be 
ferried  over  a  river  a  mile  or  two  wide  by  threes  and  fours 
at  a  time ;  how  well,  therefore,  worth  the  pains  for  them  to 
stock  themselves  better  with  boats  if  they  could  do  it. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that,  besides  these  canoes,  the 
northern  people  make  use  of  the  bark  canoe  of  the  south. 
I  judge  from  having  seen  one  of  the  small  paddles  left  by 
them  upon  a  small  island  where  they  had  been  fishing  for 
turtle  :  it  lay  upon  a  heap  of  turtle  shells  and  bones,  trophies 
of  the  good  living  they  had  had  when  there.  With  it  lay 
the  broken  staff  of  a  turtle  peg  and  a  rotten  line,  tools 
which  had  been  worn  out,  I  suppose,  in  the  service  of  catch- 
ing them.  We  had  great  reason  to  believe  that  at  some 
season  of  the  year  the  weather  is  much  more  moderate  than 
we  found  it,  otherwise  the  Indians  could  never  have 
ventured  in  any  canoes  that  we  saw  half  so  far  from  the 

Y 


322  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  HOLLAND       CH.  xm 

mainland  as  were  islands  on  which  we  saw  evident  marks 
of  their  having  been,  such  as  decayed  houses,  fires,  the  before- 
mentioned  turtle  bones,  etc.  Maybe,  at  this  more  moderate 
time,  they  make  and  use  such  canoes,  and  when  the  bluster- 
ing season  comes  on,  may  convert  the  bark  of  which  they 
were  made  to  the  purposes  of  covering  houses,  water- 
buckets,  etc.,  well  knowing  that  when  the  next  season 
returns  they  will  not  want  for  a  supply  of  bark  to  rebuild 
their  vessels.  Another  reason  we  have  to  imagine  that  such 
a  moderate  season  exists,  and  that  the  winds  are  [not]  then 
upon  the  eastern  board  as  we  found  them  is,  that  whatever 
Indian  houses  or  sleeping  places  we  saw  on  these  islands  were 
built  upon  the  summit  of  small  hills,  if  there  were  any,  or  if 
not,  in  places  where  no  bushes  or  wood  could  intercept  the 
course  of  the  wind,  and  their  shelter  was  always  turned  to  the 
eastward.  On  the  main,  again,  their  houses  were  universally 
built  in  valleys  or  under  the  shelter  of  trees  which  might 
defend  them  from  the  very  winds,  which  in  the  islands  they 
exposed  themselves  to. 

Of  their  language  I  can  say  very  little ;  our  acquaint- 
ance with  them  was  of  so  short  a  duration  that  none  of 
us  attempted  to  use  a  single  word  of  it  to  them,  conse- 
quently words  could  be  learned  in  no  other  manner  than  by 
signs,  inquiring  of  them  what  in  their  language  signified 
such  a  thing,  a  method  obnoxious  as  leading  to  many  mis- 
takes. For  instance,  a  man  holds  in  his  hand  a  stone  and 
asks  the  name  of  it,  the  Indian  may  return  him  for  answer 
either  the  real  name  of  a  stone,  or  one  of  the  properties  of 
it,  as  hardness,  roughness,  smoothness,  etc.,  or  one  of  its 
uses,  or  the  name  peculiar  to  some  particular  species  of 
stone,  which  name  the  inquirer  immediately  sets  down  as 
that  of  a  stone.  To  avoid,  however,  as  much  as  possible 
this  inconvenience,  myself  and  two  or  three  others  got 
from  them  as  many  .words  as  we  could,  and  having  noted 
down  those  which  we  thought  from  circumstances  we  were 
not  mistaken  in,  we  compared  our  lists ;  those  in  which  all 
agreed,  or  rather  were  contradicted  by  none,  we  thought 
ourselves  morally  certain  not  to  be  mistaken  in.  They  very 


1770 


LANGUAGE 


323 


often   use   the   article  ge,  which   seems   to 

answer   to  our 

English  a,  as  ge  gurka  —  a  rope. 

Wageegee 

the  head                     Meanang 

fire 

Morye 

the  hair 

Walba 

a  stone 

Melcea 

the  ears 

Yowall 

sand 

Yembe 

the  lips 

Gurka 

a  rope 

Bonjoo 

the  nose 

Bama 

a  man 

Unjar 

the  tongue 

Poinja 

a  male  turtle 

Wallar 

the  beard 

Mameingo 

a  female  turtle 

Doomboo 

the  neck 

Maragan 

a  canoe 

Cayo 

the  nipples 

Pelango 

to  paddle 

Soolpoor 

the  navel 

Takai 

set  down 

Mangal 

the  hands 

Mierbarrar 

smooth 

Coman 

the  thighs 

Garmbe 

blood 

Pongo 

the  knees 

Yo-core 

wood 

Edamal 

the  feet 

Tapool 

bone  in  nose 

Kniorror 

the  heel 

Charngala 

a  bag 

Chumal 
Chongain 

the  sole 
the  ankle 

Cherr               } 
Cherco 

Expressions        maybe 
of  admiration  which 

Kulke 
Gallan 

the  nails 
the  sun 

Yarcaw 
Tut  tut  tut  tut, 

they  continually  used 
while  in  company. 

CHAPTEE    XIV 

AUSTRALIA    TO    SAVU    ISLAND 
AUG.  27— SEPT.  21,  1770 

"Sea-sawdust"— New  Guinea — Landing — Vegetation — Natives  throw  fire- 
darts — Home-sickness  of  the  crew — Coast  along  Timor — Rotte — Aurora — 
Savu  Island — Signs  of  Europeans — A  boat  sent  ashore  to  trade — Anchor 
— Reception  by  natives — Their  Radja — Mynheer  Lange  —  House  of 
Assembly — Native  dinner — Obstacles  to  trading — Mynheer  Lange's 
covetousness — Trading — Dutch  policy  concerning  spices. 

27  th  August.  Lay  to  all  night ;  in  the  morning  a  fresh  trade 
and  fine  clear  weather  made  us  hope  that  our  difficulties 
were  drawing  to  an  end.  It  was  now  resolved  to  haul  up 
to  the  northward  in  order  to  make  the  coast  of  New  Guinea, 
so  as  to  assure  ourselves  that  we  had  really  got  clear  of 
the  South  Sea,  which  was  accordingly  done.  At  dinner- 
time we  were  alarmed  afresh  by  the  usual  report  of  a  shoal 
just  ahead ;  it  proved,  however,  to  be  no  more  than  a  band 
or  regular  layer  of  a  brownish  colour,  extending  upon  the 
sea,  having  very  much  the  appearance  of  a  shoal  while  at 
a  distance.  It  was  formed  by  innumerable  small  atoms, 
each  scarcely  half  a  line  in  length,  yet,  when  looked  at 
under  a  microscope,  consisting  of  thirty  or  forty  tubes,  each 
hollow  and  divided  throughout  the  whole  length  into  many 
cells  by  small  partitions,  like  the  tubes  of  Conferva.  To 
which  of  the  three  kingdoms  of  nature  they  belong  I  am 
totally  ignorant.  I  only  guess  that  they  are  of  a  vege- 
table nature,  because  on  burning  them  I  could  perceive  no 
animal  smell.  We  have  before  this  during  this  voyage 
seen  them  several  times  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  and  of  New 


SEPT.  1770  OFF  NEW  GUINEA  325 

Holland,  but  never  that  I  recollect  at  any  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  land.  In  the  evening  a  small  bird  of  the 
noddy  (Sterna)  kind  hovered  about  the  ship,  and  at  night 
settled  on  the  rigging,  where  it  was  taken,  and  proved 
exactly  the  same  bird  as  Dampier  has  described,  and  given 
a  rude  figure  of,  under  the  name  of  a  noddy  from  New 
Holland  (see  his  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  98,  table  of  birds, 
Fig.  5). 

28th.  Still  standing  to  the  northward,  the  water  shoal- 
ing regularly ;  vast  quantities  of  the  little  substances  men- 
tioned yesterday  floating  upon  the  water  in  large  lines,  a 
mile  or  more  long,  and  fifty  or  a  hundred  yards  wide,  all 
swimming  either  immediately  upon  the  surface  of  the 
water,  or  not  many  inches  below  it.  The  seamen,  who 
were  now  convinced  that  it  was  not  as  they  had  thought 
the  spawn  of  fish,  began  to  call  it  sea-sawdust,  a  name 
certainly  not  ill  adapted  to  its  appearance.  One  of  them, 
a  Portuguese,  who  came  on  board  the  ship  at  Eio  de 
Janeiro,  told  me  that  at  St.  Salvador  on  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
where  the  Portuguese  have  a  whale  fishery,  he  had  often 
seen  vast  quantities  of  it  taken  out  of  the  stomachs  of  whales 
or  grampuses. 

29th.  During  the  whole  night  our  soundings  were  very 
irregular,  but  never  less  than  seven  fathoms,  and  never 
so  shoal  for  any  time.  In  the  morning  the  land l  was  seen 
from  the  deck.  It  was  uncommonly  low,  but  very  thickly 
covered  with  wood.  At  eight  o'clock  it  was  not  more  than 
two  leagues  from  us,  but  the  water  had  gradually  shoaled 
since  morn  to  five  fathoms,  and  was  at  this  time  as  muddy  as 
the  river  Thames,  so  that  it  was  not  thought  prudent  to  go  any 
nearer  at  present.  We  accordingly  stood  along  shore,  seeing 
fires  and  large  groves  of  cocoanut  trees,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  which  we  supposed  the  Indian  villages  to  be  situated. 

1st  September.  Distant  as  the  land  was,  a  very  fragrant 
smell  came  off  from  it  early  in  the  morning,  with  the  little 
breeze  that  blew  right  off  shore.  It  resembled  much  the 
smell  of  gum  Benjamin.  As  the  sun  gathered  power  it  died 

1  Coast  of  New  Guinea,  near  Cape  Valsche. 


326  AUSTRALIA  TO   SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

away,  and  was  no  longer  perceived.  All  the  latter  part  of 
the  day  we  had  calms  or  light  winds  all  round  the  compass, 
the  weather  at  the  same  time  being  most  intolerably  hot. 

3rd.  We  stood  right  in-shore,  and  at  half-past  eight  had 
less  than  three  fathoms  water  five  or  six  miles  from  the 
shore.  The  captain,  Dr.  Solander,  and  I,  with  the  boat's 
crew  and  my  servants,  consisting  in  all  of  twelve  men,  well 
armed,  rowed  directly  towards  the  shore,  but  could  not  get 
nearer  than  about  200  yards  on  account  of  the  shallowness 
of  the  water.  We  quickly,  however,  got  out  of  the  boat,  and 
waded  ashore,  leaving  two  men  to  take  care  of  her.  We 
had  no  sooner  landed  than  we  saw  the  print  of  naked  feet 
upon  the  mud  below  high- water  mark,  which  convinced  us 
that  the  Indians  were  not  far  off,  though  we  had  yet  seen 
no  signs  of  any.  The  nature  of  the  country  made  it  necessary 
for  us  to  be  very  much  upon  our  guard.  The  close,  thick 
wood  came  down  to  within  less  than  100  yards  of  the  water, 
and  so  near  therefore  might  the  Indians  come  without  our 
seeing  them,  and  should  they  by  numbers  overpower  us,  a  re- 
treat to  the  boat  would  be  impossible,  as  she  was  so  far  from 
the  shore.  We  proceeded,  therefore,  with  much  caution, 
looking  carefully  about  us,  the  doctor  and  I  looking  for 
plants  at  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  the  rest  walking  along 
the  beach. 

About  200  yards  from  our  landing,  we  came  to  a  grove 
of  cocoanut  trees  of  very  small  growth,  but  well  hung 
with  fruit,  standing  upon  the  banks  of  a  small  brook 
of  brackish  water.  Near  them  was  a  small  shed,  hardly 
half  covered  with  cocoanut  leaves,  in  and  about  which  were 
numberless  cocoanut  shells,  some  quite  fresh.  We  stayed 
under  these  trees  some  time,  admiring  and  wishing  for  the 
fruit,  but  as  none  of  us  could  climb,  it  was  impossible  to 
get  even  one,  so  we  left  them,  and  proceeded  in  search  of 
anything  else  which  might  occur.  We  soon  found  plantains 
and  a  single  bread-fruit  tree,  but  neither  of  these  had  any 
fruit  upon  them,  so  we  proceeded,  and  had  got  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  boat  when  three  Indians  suddenly  rushed 
out  of  the  woods,  with  a  hideous  shout,  about  a  hundred 


SEPT.  1770  FIRE  THROWN  BY  NATIVES  327 

yards  beyond  us,  and  running  towards  us,  the  foremost  threw 
something  out  of  his  hand  which  flew  on  one  side  of  him 
and  burned  exactly  like  gunpowder.  The  other  two 
immediately  threw  two  darts  at  us,  on  which  we  fired. 
Most  of  our  guns  were  loaded  with  small  shot,  which,  at  the 
distance  they  were  from  us,  I  suppose  they  hardly  felt,  for 
they  moved  not  at  all,  but  immediately  threw  a  third  dart, 
on  which  we  loaded  and  fired  again.  Our  balls,  I  suppose, 
this  time  fell  near  them,  but  none  of  them  were  materially 
hurt,  as  they  ran  away  with  great  alacrity.  From  this 
specimen  of  the  people  we  immediately  concluded  that 
nothing  was  to  be  got  here  but  by  force,  which  would,  of 
course,  be  attended  with  the  destruction  of  many  of  these 
poor  people,  whose  territories  we  certainly  had  no  right  to 
invade,  either  as  discoverers  or  people  in  real  want  of  pro- 
visions. We  therefore  resolved  to  go  into  our  boat  and 
leave  this  coast  to  some  after-comer  who  might  have  either 
more  time  or  better  opportunities  of  gaining  the  friendship 
of  its  inhabitants.  Before  we  had  got  abreast  of  her,  how- 
ever, we  saw  the  two  people  in  her  make  signals  to  us  that 
more  Indians  were  coming  along  shore,  and  before  we  had 
got  into  the  water  we  saw  them  come  round  a  point  about 
500  yards  from  us.  They  had  probably  met  the  three  who 
first  attacked  us,  for  on  seeing  us  they  halted  and  seemed 
to  wait  till  the  main  body  should  come  up,  nor  did  they 
come  nearer  us  while  we  waded  to  the  boat.  When  we 
were  embarked  and  afloat,  we  rowed  towards  them  and 
fired  some  muskets  over  their  heads  into  the  trees,  on 
which  they  walked  gradually  off,  continuing  to  throw 
abundance  of  their  fires,  whatever  they  might  be  designed 
for.  We  guessed  their  numbers  to  be  about  100.  After 
we  had  watched  them  and  their  behaviour  as  long  as  we 
chose,  we  returned  to  the  ship,  where  our  friends  had 
suffered  much  anxiety  for  our  sakes,  imagining  that  the  fires 
thrown  by  the  Indians  were  real  muskets,  so  much  did  they 
resemble  the  fire  and  smoke  made  by  the  firing  of  one. 
These  "  fire-arms  "  were  also  seen  by  Torres  (see  p.  li.) 

The  place  where  we  landed  we  judged  to  be  near  Cabo  de 


328  AUSTRALIA  TO   SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

la  Colta  de  Santa  Bonaventura,  as  it  is  called  in  the  French 
charts,  about  nine  or  ten  leagues  to  the  southward  of  Ke&r 
Weer}  We  were  not  ashore  altogether  more  than  two  hours, 
so  cannot  be  expected  to  have  made  many  observations. 

The  soil  had  all  the  appearance  of  the  highest  fertility, 
being  covered  with  a  prodigious  quantity  of  trees,  which 
seemed  to  thrive  luxuriantly.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 
cocoanut  trees  bore  very  small  fruit,  and  the  plantains  did 
not  seem  very  thriving.  The  only  bread-fruit  tree  that  we 
saw  was,  however,  very  large  and  healthy.  There  was  very 
little  variety  of  plants ;  we  saw  only  twenty -three  species, 
every  one  of  which  was  known  to  us,  unless  two  may  prove 
upon  comparison  to  be  different  from  any  of  the  many 
species  of  Cyperus  we  have  still  undetermined  from  New 
Holland.  Had  we  had  axes  to  cut  down  the  trees,  or 
could  we  have  ventured  into  the  woods,  we  should  doubtless 
have  found  more,  but  we  had  only  an  opportunity  of  examin- 
ing the  beach  and  edge  of  the  wood.  I  am  of  opinion,  how- 
ever, that  the  country  does  not  abound  in  variety  of  species, 
as  I  have  been  in  no  one  before  where  I  could  not,  on  a 
good  soil,  have  gathered  many  more  with  the  same  time  and 
opportunity. 

The  people,  as  well  as  we  could  judge,  were  nearly  of  the 
same  colour  as  the  New  Hollanders ;  some  thought  rather 
lighter.  They  were  certainly  stark  naked.  The  arms  which 
they  used  against  us  were  very  light,  ill -made  darts  of 
bamboo  cane,  pointed  with  hard  wood,  in  which  were  many 
barbs.  They  perhaps  shot  them  with  bows,  but  I  am  of 
opinion  that  they  threw  them  with  a  stick  something  in  the 
manner  of  the  New  Hollanders.  They  came  about  sixty 
yards  beyond  us,  but  not  in  a  point-blank  direction. 
Besides  these,  many  among  them,  maybe  a  fifth  part  of  the 
whole,  had  in  their  hands  a  short  piece  of  stick,  perhaps  a 
hollow  cane,  which  they  swing  sideways  from  them,  and 
immediately  fire  flew  from  it  perfectly  resembling  the  flash 
and  smoke  of  a  musket,  and  of  no  longer  duration.  For 

1  Cook  and  Banks  landed  "on  a  part  of  the  coast  scarcely  known  to  this 
day." — Wharton's  Cook. 


SEPT.  1770  NEW  GUINEA  329 

what  purpose  that  was  done  is  far  beyond  my  guessing. 
They  had  with  them  several  dogs,  who  ran  after  them  in 
the  same  manner  as  ours  do  in  Europe. 

The  house  or  shed  that  we  saw  was  very  mean  and  poor. 
It  consisted  of  four  stakes  driven  into  the  ground,  two  being 
longer  than  the  others.  Over  these  cocoanut  leaves  were 
loosely  laid ;  not  half  enough  to  cover  it.  By  the  cutting 
of  these  stakes,  as  well  as  of  the  arrows  or  darts  which 
they  threw  at  us,  we  concluded  that  they  had  no  iron. 

As  soon  as  ever  the  boat  was  hoisted  in  we  made  sail, 
and  steered  away  from  this  land,  to  the  no  small  satisfaction 
of,  I  believe,  three-fourths  of  our  company.  The  sick  became 
well  and  the  melancholy  looked  gay.  The  greater  part  of 
them  were  now  pretty  far  gone  with  the  longing  for  home, 
which  the  physicians  have  gone  so  far  as  to  esteem  a  disease 
under  the  name  of  nostalgia.  Indeed  I  can  find  hardly 
anybody  in  the  ship  clear  of  its  effects  but  the  captain,  Dr. 
Solander,  and  myself,  and  we  three  have  ample  constant 
employment  for  our  minds,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  best, 
if  not  the  only  remedy  for  it. 

4:th.  The  altered  countenances  of  our  common  people 
were  still  more  perceptible  than  they  were  yesterday.  Two- 
thirds  allowance  had,  I  believe,  made  the  chief  difference 
with  them,  for  our  provisions  were  now  so  much  wasted  by 
keeping,  that  that  allowance  was  little  more  than  was 
necessary  to  keep  life  and  soul  together. 

1 2th.  As  soon  as  the  light  was  pretty  clear,  land  was 
seen  five  or  six  leagues  off,  and  we  stood  in  for  it.  It 
was  very  high,  rising  in  gradual  slopes  from  the  hills,  which 
were  in  great  measure  covered  with  thick  woods.  Among 
them,  however,  we  could  distinguish  bare  spots  of  large 
extent,  which  looked  as  if  made  by  art.  Many  fires  were 
also  seen  on  all  parts  of  the  hills,  some  very  high  up. 
At  nightfall  we  were  within  a  mile  and  a  half  off  the  beach, 
just  abreast  of  a  little  inlet.  The  country  seemed  to  answer 
very  well  to  the  description  which  Dampier  has  given  of 
Timor,  the  land  close  to  the  beach  being  covered  with  high 
tapering  trees,  which  he  likens  to  pines  (Casuarina),  behind 


33°  AUSTRALIA  TO   SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

which  was  a  great  appearance  of  salt-water  creeks  and  many 
mangroves.  In  parts,  however,  were  many  cocoanut  trees. 
Close  down  to  the  beach  the  flat  land  seemed  to  extend  in 
some  places  two  or  three  miles  before  the  rise  of  the  first 
hill.  We  saw  no  appearance  of  plantations  or  houses  near 
the  sea,  but  the  land  looked  most  fertile,  and  from  the  many 
fires  we  saw  in  different  parts  we  could  not  help  having  a 
good  opinion  of  its  population. 

1 4:th.  Infinite  albecores  and  bonitos  were  about  the  ship, 
attended,  as  they  always  are  when  near  land,  by  some 
species  of  Sterna.  These  were  Dampier's  New  Holland 
noddies,  which  flew  in  large  flocks,  hovering  over  the  shoals 
of  fish.  Many  man-of-war  birds  also  attended,  and  enter- 
tained us  by  very  frequently  stooping  at  albecores  so  large 
that  twenty  times  their  strength  could  not  have  lifted  them, 
had  they  been  dexterous  enough  to  seize  them,  which  they 
never  once  effected. 

1 5th.  About  a  mile  up  from  the  beach  began  the  plantations, 
and  houses  almost  innumerable  standing  under  the  shade  of 
large  groves  of  palms,  appearing  like  the  fan-palm  (Borassus). 
The  plantations,  which  were  in  general  enclosed  with  some 
kind  of  fence,  reached  almost  to  the  top  of  the  hills,  but 
near  the  beach  were  no  certain  marks  of  habitations  seen. 
But  what  surprised  us  most  was  that,  notwithstanding  all 
these  indisputable  marks  of  a  populous  country,  we  saw 
neither  people  nor  any  kind  of  cattle  stirring  all  the  day, 
though  our  glasses  were  almost  continually  employed. 

16th.  Soon  after  breakfast  the  small  island  of  Eotte  was 
in  sight,  and  a  little  later  the  opening  appeared  plainly, 
which  at  last  convinced  our  old  unbelievers  that  the  island 
we  had  so  long  been  off  was  really  Timor.  Soon  after  dinner 
we  passed  the  straits.  Eotte  was  not  mountainous  or  high 
like  Timor,  but  consisted  of  hills  and  vales.  On  the  east 
end  of  it  some  of  our  people  saw  houses,  but  I  did  not.  The 
north  side  had  many  sandy  beaches,  near  which  grew  some 
of  the  fan-palms,  but  the  greater  part  was  covered  with  a 
kind  of  bushy  tree  which  had  few  or  no  leaves.  The  straits 
between  Timor  and  the  island  called  by  Dampier  Anabao  we 


SEPT.  1770    REMARKABLE  LIGHTS— ARRIVE  AT  SAVU    331 

plainly  saw ;  they  appeared  narrow.  Anabao  itself  looked 
much  like  Timor,  but  was  not  quite  so  high.  We  saw  on  it 
no  signs  of  cultivation,  but  as  it  was  misty,  and  we  were 
well  on  the  other  side  of  the  straits,  which  we  judged  to 
be  five  leagues  across,  we  saw  it  but  very  indifferently. 

About  ten  o'clock  a  phenomenon  appeared  in  the  heavens, 
in  many  things  resembling  the  aurora  borealis,  but  differing 
materially  in  others.  It  consisted  of  a  dull  reddish  light, 
reaching  in  height  about  twenty  degrees  above  the  horizon. 
Its  extent  varied  much  at  different  times,  but  was  never 
less  than  eight  or  ten  points  of  the  compass.  Through  and 
out  of  this  passed  rays  of  a  brighter-coloured  light,  tending 
directly  upwards.  These  appeared  and  vanished  nearly  in 
the  same  time  as  those  of  the  aurora  borealis,  but  were 
entirely  without  the  trembling  or  vibratory  motion  observed 
in  that  phenomenon.  The  body  of  it  bore  from  the  ship 
S.S.E.  It  lasted  as  bright  as  ever  till  nearly  midnight, 
when  I  went  down  to  sleep,  and  how  much  longer  I  cannot 
tell. 

Vlih.  In  the  morning  an  island1  was  in  sight,  very  im- 
perfectly, if  at  all,  laid  down  in  the  charts.  By  ten  we  were 
very  near  the  east  end  of  it.  It  was  not  high,  but  composed 
of  gently  sloping  hills  and  vales  almost  entirely  cleared  and 
covered  with  innumerable  palm  trees.  Near  the  beach  were 
many  houses,  but  no  people  were  seen  stirring.  Soon  after 
we  passed  the  N.E.  point,  we  saw  on  the  beach  a  large  flock 
of  sheep,  but  still  no  people.  The  north  side  of  the  isle 
appeared  scarcely  at  all  cultivated,  but,  like  that  of  Eotte, 
was  covered  with  thick  brushwood,  almost  or  quite  destitute 
of  leaves.  Among  these,  as  we  passed,  we  saw  numerous 
flocks  of  sheep,  but  no  houses  or  plantations.  At  last,  how- 
ever, one  was  discovered  in  a  grove  of  cocoanut  trees,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  send  a  boat  in  charge  of  a  lieutenant  to 
attempt  to  establish  a  commerce  with  people  who  seemed  so 
well  able  to  supply  our  many  necessities.  "We  saw  on  the 
hills  two  men  on  horseback,  who  seemed  to  ride  for  their 
amusement,  looking  often  at  the  ship,  a  circumstance  which 

1  Savu  Island,  belonging  to  the  Dutch. 


332  SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

made  us  at  once  conclude  that  there  were  Europeans  among 
the  islanders,  by  whom  we  should  be  received  at  least  more 
politely  than  we  were  used  to  be  by  uncivilised  Indians. 

After  a  very  short  stay  the  lieutenant  returned,  bringing 
word  that  he  had  seen  Indians,  in  all  respects,  as  colour, 
dress,  etc.,  much  resembling  the  Malays;  that  they  very 
civilly  invited  him  ashore,  and  conversed  with  him  by  signs, 
but  neither  party  could  understand  the  other.  They  were 
totally  unarmed,  except  for  the  knives  which  they  wore  in 
their  girdles,  and  had  with  them  a  jackass,  a  sure  sign  that 
Europeans  had  been  among  them. 

It  was  resolved  to  go  to  the  lee  side  of  the  island  in  hopes 
there  to  find  anchoring  ground ;  in  the  meanwhile,  however, 
the  boat  with  some  truck  was  sent  ashore  at  the  cocoanut 
grove,  in  hopes  of  purchasing  some  trifling  refreshment  for 
the  sick,  in  case  we  should  be  disappointed  later  on.  Dr. 
Solander  went  in  it.  Before  it  reached  the  shore  we  saw 
two  fresh  horsemen,  one  of  whom  had  on  a  complete  European 
dress,  blue  coat,  white  waistcoat,  and  laced  hat ;  these  as  the 
boat  lay  ashore,  seemed  to  take  little  notice  of  her,  but  only 
sauntered  about,  looking  much  at  the  ship.  Many  more 
horsemen,  however,  and  still  more  footmen  gathered  round 
our  people,  and  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  several 
cocoanuts  brought  into  the  boat,  a  sure  sign  that  peace  and 
plenty  reigned  ashore. 

After  a  stay  of  an  hour  and  a  half  the  boat  made  a 
signal  of  having  had  intelligence  of  a  harbour  to  leeward, 
and  we  in  consequence  bore  away  for  it ;  the  boat  following 
soon  came  on  board  and  told  us  that  the  people  had  behaved 
in  an  uncommonly  civil  manner,  that  they  had  seen  some  of 
their  principal  people,  who  were  dressed  in  fine  linen,  and 
had  chains  of  gold  round  their  necks,  that  they  had  not  been 
able  to  trade,  the  owner  of  the  cocoanut  trees  not  being 
there,  but  had  got  about  two  dozen  cocoanuts  given  as  a 
present  by  these  principal  people  who  accepted  linen  in 
return,  and  made  them  understand  by  drawing  a  map  upon 
the  sand,  that  on  the  lee  side  of  the  island  was  a  bay  in 
which  we  might  anchor  near  a  town  and  buy  sheep,  hogs, 


SEPT.  1770  RECEPTION  AT  SAVU  333 

fruit,  fowls,  etc.  They  talked  much  of  the  Portuguese  and 
of  Larntuca  on  the  Island  of  Ende,1  from  which  circumstance 
it  was  probable  that  the  Portuguese  were  somewhere  on  the 
island,  though  none  of  the  natives  could  speak  more  than  a 
word  or  two  of  the  language.  Our  conclusion  was  strength- 
ened as  one  of  the  Indians,  in  speaking  of  the  town,  made  a 
sign  of  something  we  should  see  there  by  crossing  his  fingers, 
which  a  Portuguese,  who  was  in  the  boat,  immediately  in- 
terpreted into  a  cross,  a  supposition  which  appeared  very 
probable.  Just  before  they  put  off  the  man  in  an  European 
dress  came  towards  them,  but  the  officer  in  the  boat,  not 
having  his  commission  about  him,  thought  proper  to  put  off 
immediately  without  staying  to  speak  to  him,  or  know  what 
countryman  he  was. 

We  sailed  along  shore,  and  after  having  passed  a  point 
of  land  found  a  bay  sheltered  from  the  trade  wind,  in  which 
we  soon  discovered  a  large  Indian  town  or  village,  on  which 
we  stood  in,  hoisting  a  Jack.  To  our  no  small  surprise 
Dutch  colours  were  hoisted  in  the  town,  and  three  guns 
fired  ;  we,  however,  proceeded,  and  just  at  dark  got  soundings, 
and  anchored  about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  shore. 

18th.  In  the  morning  the  boat  with  the  second  lieu- 
tenant went  ashore  and  was  received  by  a  guard  of  twenty 
or  thirty  Indians  armed  with  muskets,  who  conducted  them 
to  the  town,  about  a  mile  in  the  country,  marching  without 
any  order  or  regularity,  and  carrying  away  with  them  the 
Dutch  colours,  which  had  been  hoisted  upon  the  beach 
opposite  to  where  the  ship  lay.  Here  he  was  introduced  to 
the  Eadja  or  Indian  king,  whom  he  told  through  a  Portu- 
guese interpreter  that  we  were  an  English  man-of-war,  which 
had  been  long  at  sea  and  had  many  sick  on  board,  for  whom 
we  wanted  to  purchase  such  refreshments  as  the  island  pro- 
vided. He  answered  that  he  was  willing  to  supply  us  with 
everything  that  we  should  want,  but  being  in  alliance  with 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  he  was  not  allowed  to  trade 
with  any  other  people  without  their  consent,  which,  however, 
he  would  immediately  apply  for  to  a  Dutchman  belonging  to 
1  Now  better  known  as  Flores. 


334  SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP  xiv 

that  company,  who  was  the  only  white  man  residing  upon 
that  island.  A  letter  was  accordingly  despatched  immedi- 
ately, and  after  some  hours'  waiting,  answered  by  the  man 
in  person,  who  assured  us  with  many  civilities  that  we 
were  at  liberty  to  buy  of  the  natives  whatever  we  pleased. 
He,  as  well  as  the  king  and  several  of  his  attendants,  ex- 
pressed a  desire  of  coming  on  board,  provided,  however,  that 
some  of  our  people  might  stay  on  shore ;  on  which  two  were 
left. 

About  two  o'clock  they  arrived ;  our  dinners  were  ready, 
and  they  soon  agreed  to  dine  with  us.  On  sitting  down, 
however,  the  king  excused  himself,  saying  that  he  did 
not  imagine  that  we  who  were  white  men  would  suffer  him 
who  was  black  to  sit  down  in  our  company.  A  compliment, 
however,  removed  his  scruples,  and  he  and  his  prime 
minister  sat  down  and  ate  sparingly.  During  all  dinner- 
time we  received  many  professions  of  friendship  from  both 
the  king  and  the  European,  who  was  a  native  of  Saxony,  by 
name  Johan  Christopher  Lange.  Mutton  was  our  fare  :  the 
king  expressed  a  desire  to  have  an  English  sheep,  and  as  we 
had  one  left  it  was  presented  to  him.  Mynheer  Lange  then 
hinted  that  a  spying-glass  would  be  acceptable,  and  was  im- 
mediately presented  with  one.  We  were  told  that  the 
island  abounded  in  buffaloes,  sheep,  hogs,  and  fowls,  all 
which  should  be  next  day  driven  down  to  the  beach,  and  we 
might  buy  any  quantity  of  them.  This  agreeable  intelli- 
gence put  us  all  into  high  spirits,  and  the  liquor  went  about 
fully  as  much  as  Mynheer  Lange  or  the  Indians  could  bear. 
They,  however,  expressed  a  desire  of  going  away  before  they 
were  quite  drunk.  They  were  received  upon  deck,  as  they 
had  been  when  they  came  on  board,  by  the  marines  under 
arms.  The  king  wished  to  see  them  exercise,  which  they 
accordingly  did,  and  fired  three  rounds  much  to  his  Majesty's 
satisfaction,  who  expressed  great  surprise,  particularly  at 
their  so  quickly  cocking  their  guns.  Dr.  Solander  and  I 
went  ashore  in  the  boat  with  them :  as  soon  as  we  put  off 
they  saluted  the  ship  with  three  cheers,  which  the  ship 
answered  with  five  guns. 


SEPT.  1770  DUTCH  RESIDENT  AT  SAVU  335 

We  landed  and  walked  up  to  the  town,  which  consisted 
of  a  good  many  houses,  some  tolerably  large,  each  being  a 
roof  of  thatch  supported  by  pillars  three  or  four  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  covering  a  boarded  floor.  Before  we  had 
been  long  there  it  began  to  grow  dark,  and  we  returned  on 
board,  having  only  just  tasted  their  palm  wine,  which  had 
a  very  sweet  taste,  and  suited  all  our  palates  very  well, 
giving  us  hopes  at  the  same  time  that  it  might  be  service- 
able to  our  sick,  as,  being  the  fresh  and  unfermented  juice 
of  the  tree,  it  promised  antiscorbutic  virtues. 

19^/t.  We  went  ashore,  and  proceeded  immediately  to 
the  house  of  assembly,  a  large  house  which  we  had  yesterday 
mistaken  for  the  king's  palace ;  this,  as  well  as  two  or  three 
more  in  the  town,  or  nigrie,  as  the  Indians  call  it,  have 
been  built  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Company.  They  are 
distinguished  from  the  rest  by  two  pieces  of  wood,  one  at 
each  end  of  the  ridge  of  the  house,  resembling  cows'  horns ; 
undoubtedly  the  thing  designed  by  the  Indian,  who  on  the 
17th  made  a  sign  of  the  mark  by  which  we  were  to  know 
the  town  by  crossing  his  fingers,  and  which  our  Catholic 
Portuguese  interpreted  into  a  cross,  making  us  believe  that 
the  settlement  was  originally  Portuguese.  In  this  house  of 
assembly  we  met  Mynheer  Lange,  and  the  Radja,  Madoclio 
Lomi  Djara,  attended  by  many  of  the  principal  people.  We 
told  them  that  we  had  in  the  boat  an  assortment  of  what 
few  goods  we  had  to  truck  with,  and  desired  leave  to  bring 
them  ashore,  which  was  immediately  granted,  and  orders 
given  accordingly.  We  then  attempted  to  settle  the  price 
of  buffaloes,  sheep,  hogs,  etc.,  which  were  to  be  paid  in 
money,  but  here  Mynheer  Lange  left  us,  and  told  us  that 
we  must  settle  that  with  the  natives,  who  would  bring 
down  large  quantities  to  the  beach.  By  this  time  the 
morning  was  pretty  far  advanced,  and  we,  resolving  not  to 
go  on  board,  and  eat  salt  meat,  when  such  a  profusion  of 
flesh  was  continually  talked  of,  petitioned  his  Majesty  that 
we  might  have  liberty  to  purchase  a  small  hog,  some  rice, 
etc.,  and  employ  his  subjects  to  cook  them  for  dinner.  He 
answered  that  if  we  could  eat  victuals  dressed  by  his 


336  SAVU   ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

subjects,  which  he  could  hardly  suppose,  he  would  do  him- 
self the  honour  of  entertaining  us ;  we  expressed  our 
gratitude,  and  sent  immediately  on  hoard  for  liquors. 

About  five  o'clock  dinner  was  ready,  consisting  of  thirty- 
six  dishes,  or  rather  baskets,  containing  alternately  rice  and 
boiled  pork,  and  three  earthenware  bowls  of  soup,  which  was 
the  broth  in  which  the  pork  had  been  boiled.  These  were 
ranged  on  the  floor,  and  mats  laid  round  for  us  to  sit  upon. 
We  were  now  conducted  by  turns  to  a  hole  in  the  floor, 
near  which  stood  a  man  with  a  basket  of  water  in  his  hand  : 
here  we  washed  our  hands,  and  then  ranged  ourselves  in 
order  round  the  victuals,  waiting  for  the  king  to  sit  down. 
We  were  told,  however,  that  the  custom  of  the  country  was 
that  the  entertainer  never  sits  down  to  meat  with  his 
guests,  but  that  if  we  suspected  the  victuals  to  be  poisoned, 
he  would  willingly  do  it.  We  suspected  nothing,  and 
therefore  desired  that  all  things  might  go  on  as  usual.  We 
ate  with  good  appetites,  the  Prime  Minister  and  Mynheer 
Lange  partaking  with  us.  Our  wine  passed  briskly  about, 
the  Radja  alone  refusing  to  drink  with  us,  saying  that  it 
was  wrong  for  the  master  of  the  feast  to  be  in  liquor.  The 
pork  was  excellent,  the  rice  as  good,  the  broth  not  bad,  but 
the  spoons,  which  were  made  of  leaves,  were  so  small  that 
few  of  us  had  patience  to  eat  it.  Every  one  made  a  hearty 
dinner,  and  as  soon  as  we  had  done,  removed,  as  it  seems 
the  custom  was,  to  let  the  servants  and  seamen  take  our 
places.  These  could  not  despatch  all,  but  when  the  women 
came  to  take  away,  they  forced  them  to  take  away  with 
them  all  the  pork  that  was  left. 

Before  dinner  Mynheer  Lange  mentioned  to  us  a  letter 
which  he  had  in  the  morning  received  from  the  Governor 
of  Timor :  the  particulars  of  it  were  now  discussed.  It  ac- 
quainted him  that  a  ship  had  been  seen  off  that  island,  and 
had  steered  from  thence  towards  that  which  we  were  now 
upon.  In  case  such  ship  was  to  touch  there  in  any  distress, 
she  was  to  be  supplied  with  what  she  wanted,  but  was  not 
to  be  allowed  to  make  any  longer  stay  than  was  necessary, 
and  was  particularly  required  not  to  make  any  large  presents 


SEPT.  1770  TRADE  AT  SAVU  337 

to  the  inferior  people,  or  to  leave  any  with  the  principal 
ones  to  be  distributed  among  them  after  she  was  gone. 
This  we  were  told  did  not  at  all  extend  to  the  beads  or 
small  pieces  of  cloth  which  we  gave  the  natives  in  return 
for  their  small  civilities,  as  bringing  us  palm  wine,  etc. 
Some  of  our  gentlemen  were  of  opinion  that  the  whole  of 
this  letter  was  an  imposition,  but  whether  it  was  or  not  I 
shall  not  take  upon  myself  to  determine. 

In  the  evening  we  had  intelligence  from  our  trading 
place  that  no  buffaloes  or  hogs  had  been  brought  down ;  but 
only  a  few  sheep,  which  were  taken  away  before  our  people, 
who  had  sent  for  money,  could  procure  it.  Some  few  fowls, 
however,  were  bought,  and  a  large  quantity  of  a  kind  of 
syrup  made  from  the  juice  of  the  palm  tree,  which,  though 
infinitely  superior  to  molasses  or  treacle,  sold  at  a  very 
small  price.  We  complained  to  Mynheer  Lange :  he  said 
that  as  we  had  not  ourselves  been  down  upon  the  beach, 
the  natives  were  afraid  to  take  money  from  any  one  else, 
lest  it  should  be  false.  On  this,  the  captain  went  im- 
mediately down,  but  could  see  no  cattle :  while  he  was  gone, 
Mr.  Lange  complained  that  our  people  had  not  yet  offered 
gold  for  anything  :  this  he  said  the  islanders  were  displeased 
at,  as  they  had  expected  to  have  had  gold  for  their  stock. 

2Qth.  In  the  morning  early  the  captain  went  ashore 
himself  to  purchase  buffaloes :  he  was  shown  two,  one  of 
which  they  valued  at  five  guineas,  the  other  a  musket :  he 
offered  three  guineas  for  the  one,  and  sent  for  a  musket  to 
give  for  the  other.  The  money  was  flatly  refused,  and 
before  the  musket  could  be  brought  off,  Dr.  Solander,  who 
had  been  up  in  the  town  in  order  to  speak  to  Mr.  Lange,  re- 
turned, followed  by  eighty  spearmen  and  twenty  musketeers 
sent  by  the  king,  to  tell  us  that  this  day  and  no  more 
would  be  allowed  us  to  trade,  after  which  we  must  be  gone. 
This  was  the  message  that  Dr.  Solander  had  from  the  Eadja 
by  Mr.  Lange's  interpretation,  but  a  Portuguese  Indian  who 
came  from  Timor,  probably  next  in  command  to  Mr.  Lange, 
carried  it  much  further,  telling  us  that  we  might  stay  ashore 
till  night  if  we  pleased,  but  none  of  the  Indians  would  be 

z 


338  SAVU  ISLAND  CHAP,  xiv 

allowed  to  trade  with  us,  after  which  he  began  to  drive 
away  those  who  had  brought  hens,  syrup,  etc.  To  remedy 
this  an  old  sword  which  lay  in  the  boat  was  given  to  the 
Prime  Minister,  as  I  have  called  him,  Mannudjame,  who  in 
an  instant  restored  order,  and  severely  chid  the  officer  of  the 
guard,  an  old  Portuguese  Indian,  for  having  gone  beyond 
his  orders.  Trade  now  was  as  brisk  as  ever;  fowls  and 
syrup  were  bought  cheap,  and  in  vast  plenty.  The  state 
of  the  case  now  appeared  plain :  Mr.  Lange  was  to  have  a 
share  of  what  the  buffaloes  were  sold  for,  and  that  was  to 
be  paid  in  money.  The  captain,  therefore,  though  sore 
against  his  will,  resolved  to  pay  five  guineas  apiece  for  one 
or  two  buffaloes,  and  try  to  buy  the  Test  for  muskets.  Ac- 
cordingly, no  sooner  had  he  hinted  his  mind  to  the  Portu- 
guese Indian,  than  a  buffalo,  but  a  very  small  one,  was 
brought  down,  and  five  guineas  given  for  it :  two  larger  ones 
followed  immediately,  for  one  of  which  a  musket,  and  for 
the  other  five  guineas  was  given.  There  was  now  no  more 
occasion  for  money,  we  picked  them  just  as  we  chose  for  a 
musket  apiece.  We  bought  nine,  as  many  as  we  thought 
would  last  us  to  Batavia,  especially  as  we  had  little  or  no 
victuals,  but  so  ill  were  we  provided  with  cords  that  three 
of  the  nine  broke  from  us ;  two  of  these  the  Indians  re- 
covered, but  the  third  got  quite  off,  though  our  people, 
assisted  by  the  Indians,  followed  it  for  three  hours. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Lange  came  down  to  the  beach, 
softened  by  the  money  which,  no  doubt,  he  had  received, 
and  took  frequent  occasions  of  letting  us  know  that  if  we 
pleased  we  might  come  ashore  the  next  day.  Our  business 
was,  however,  quite  done,  so  to  fulfil  a  promise  which  we 
had  made,  he  was  presented  with  a  small  cag  of  beer,  and 
we  took  our  leave  as  good  friends  as  possible. 

I  have  been  very  diffuse  and  particular  in  mentioning 
every  trifling  circumstance  which  occurred  in  this  transac- 
tion, as  this  may  perhaps  be  the  only  opportunity  I  shall 
ever  have  of  visiting  an  island  of  great  consequence  to  the 
Dutch,  and  scarcely  known  to  any  other  Europeans,  even 
by  name.  I  can  find  it  in  only  one  of  the  draughts,  and 


SEPT.  1770  SPICES  339 

that  an  old  one  printed  by  Mount  and  Page,  the  Lord 
knows  when,  which  has  it  by  the  name  of  Sau,  but  con- 
founds it  with  Sandel  Bosch,  which  is  laid  down  quite 
wrong.  Eumphius  mentions  an  island  by  the  name  of 
Saow,  and  says  it  is  that  which  is  called  by  the  Dutch 
Sandel  Bosch,  but  no  chart  that  I  have  seen  lays  either  that, 
Timor,  Eotte,  or  indeed  any  island  that  we  have  seen  here- 
abouts, in  anything  near  its  right  place. 

While  we  were  here  an  accident  happened  by  the  im- 
prudence of  Mr.  Parkinson,  my  draughtsman,  which  might 
alone  have  altered  our  intended  and  at  first  promised  recep- 
tion very  much ;  indeed,  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  did.  He, 
desirous  of  knowing  whether  or  not  this  island  produced 
spices,  carried  ashore  with  him  nutmegs,  cloves,  etc.,  and 
questioned  the  inhabitants  about  them  without  the  least 
precaution,  so  that  it  immediately  came  to  Mr.  Lange's  ears. 
He  complained  to  the  doctor  that  our  people  were  too  in- 
quisitive, particularly,  says  he,  "  in  regard  to  spices,  concern- 
ing which  they  can  have  no  reason  to  wish  for  any  informa- 
tion unless  you  are  come  for  very  different  purposes  than 
those  you  pretend."  The  doctor,  not  well  versed  in  the 
German  language,  in  which  they  conversed,  immediately 
conceived  that  Mr.  Lange  meant  only  some  questions  which 
he  himself  had  asked  concerning  the  cinnamon ;  nor  did  we 
ever  know  the  contrary  till  the  day  after  we  had  left  the 
place,  when  Mr.  Parkinson  boasted  of  the  information  we 
had  obtained  of  these  people  certainly  having  a  knowledge 
of  the  spices,  as  they  had  in  their  language  names  for  them. 


CHAPTEE   XV 

DESCRIPTION    OF    SAVU 

Mr.  Lange's  account — Political  divisions  of  the  island — Its  general  appear- 
ance—  Productions — Buffaloes  — Horses  —Sheep  —  Fish  — Vegetables  — 
Fan-palm — Liquor — Sugar-making — Fire-holes  for  cooking — Sustaining 
qualities  of  sugar — Description  of  the  natives — Dress — Ornaments — 
Chewing  betel,  areca,  lime,  and  tobacco — Construction  of  their  houses — 
Looms  and  spinning-machines — Surgery — Religion — Christian  converts 
— Radjas — Slaves — Large  stones  of  honour — Feasts — Military — Weapons 
— Relations  with  the  Dutch — Mynheer  Lange — Language — Neighbouring 
islands — Wreck  of  a  French  ship— Dutch  policy  with  regard  to  language. 

I  SHALL  now  proceed  to  give  such  an  account  of  the  island 
as  I  could  get  together  during  our  stay,  which,  short  as  it 
was,  was  so  taken  up  with  procuring  refreshments,  in  which 
occupation  every  one  was  obliged  to  exert  himself,  that  very 
little,  I  confess,  is  from  my  own  observation.  Almost  every- 
thing is  gathered  from  the  conversation  of  Mr.  Lange,  who 
at  first  and  at  the  end  was  very  free  and  open,  and,  I  am 
inclined  to  believe,  did  not  deceive  us  in  what  he  told  us, 
how  much  soever  he  might  conceal ;  except,  perhaps,  in  the 
strength  and  warlike  disposition  of  the  islanders,  which 
account  seems  to  contradict  itself,  as  one  can  hardly  imagine 
these  people  to  be  of  a  warlike  disposition  who  have  con- 
tinued in  peace  time  out  of  mind.  As  for  the  other  islands 
in  this  neighbourhood,  his  information  was  all  we  had  to  go 
upon.  I  would  not,  however,  neglect  to  set  it  down,  though 
in  general  it  was  of  little  more  consequence  than  to  confirm 
the  policy  of  the  Dutch  in  confining  their  spices  to  parti- 
cular isles,  which,  being  full  of  them,  cannot  supply  them- 
selves with  provisions. 


SEPT.  1770  FERTILITY  OF  THE  ISLAND  341 

The  little  island  of  Savu,  which,  trifling  as  it  is,  appears 
to  me  to  be  of  no  small  consequence  to  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company,  is  situate  in  lat.  10°  35'  S.  and  long.  122°  30'  E.1 
from  the  meridian  of  Greenwich  :  its  length  and  breadth  are 
nearly  the  same,  viz.  about  6  German  or  24  English  miles. 
The  whole  is  divided  into  five  principalities,  nigries  as  they 
are  called  by  the  Indians,  Zaai,  Seba,  Regeeua,  Timo,  and 
Massara,  each  governed  by  its  respective  radja  or  king.  It 
has  three  harbours,  all  good ;  the  best  is  Timo,  situate  some- 
where round  the  S.E.  point  of  the  isle ;  the  next,  Seba,  where 
we  anchored,  situate  round  the  N.W.  point :  of  the  third  we 
learnt  neither  the  name  nor  situation,  only  guess  it  to  be 
somewhere  011  the  south  side.  Off  the  west  end  of  the 
island  is  another  called  Pulo,  with  an  additional  name,  which 
in  the  hurry  of  business  was  forgotten,  and  never  again 
asked  for. 

The  appearance  of  the  island,  especially  on  the  windward 
side  where  we  first  made  it,  was  allowed  by  us  all  to  equal 
in  beauty,  if  not  excel,  anything  we  had  seen,  even  parched 
up  as  it  was  by  a  drought,  which,  Mr.  Lange  informed  us, 
had  continued  for  seven  months  without  a  drop  of  rain,  the 
last  rainy  season  having  entirely  failed  them.  Verdure, 
indeed,  there  was  at  this  time  no  sign  of,  but  the  gentle 
sloping  of  the  hills,  which  were  cleared  quite  to  the  top, 
and  planted  in  every  part  with  thick  groves  of  the  fan-palm, 
besides  woods  almost  of  cocoanut  trees,  arecas  which  grew 
near  the  seaside,  filled  the  eye  so  completely  that  it  hardly 
looked  for  or  missed  the  verdure  of  the  earth,  a  circumstance 
seldom  seen  in  any  perfection  so  near  the  line.  How 
beautiful  it  must  appear  when  covered  with  its  springing 
crops  of  maize,  millet,  indigo,  etc.,  which  cover  almost  every 
foot  of  ground  in  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  island,  imagina- 
tion can  hardly  conceive.  The  verdure  of  Europe,  set  off 
by  those  stately  pillars  of  India,  palms — I  mean  especially 
the  fan-palm,  which  for  straightness  and  proportion,  both  of 
the  stem  itself  and  of  the  head  to  the  stem,  far  excels  all  the 

1  The  latitude  and  longitude  were  left  blank :  they  ".have  been  filled  in 
from  Cook's  Journal. 


342  DESCRIPTION  OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

palms  that  I  have  seen — requires  a  poetical  imagination  to 
describe,  and  a  mind  not  unacquainted  with  such  sights  to 
conceive. 

The  productions  of  this  island  are  buffaloes,  sheep,  hogs, 
fowls,  horses,  asses,  maize,  guinea  corn,  rice,  calevances,  limes, 
oranges,  mangroves,  plantains,  water-melons,  tamarinds, 
sweet  sops  (Annona);  blimbi  (Averrhoa  lilimbi},  besides 
cocoanuts  and  fan-palms,  which  last  are  in  sufficient  quantity, 
should  all  other  crops  fail,  to  support  the  whole  island, 
people,  stock,  and  all,  who  have  at  times  been  obliged  to 
live  upon  its  sugar,  syrup,  and  wines  for  some  months.  We 
saw  also  a  small  quantity  of  European  garden  herbs,  as 
celery,  marjoram,  fennel,  and  garlic,  and  one  single  sugar- 
cane. Besides  these  necessaries,  it  has  for  the  supply  of 
luxury  betel  and  areca,  tobacco,  cotton,  indigo,  and  a  little 
cinnamon,  only  planted  for  curiosity,  said  Mr.  Lange  ;  indeed, 
I  almost  doubt  whether  or  not  it  was  genuine  cinnamon,  as 
the  Dutch  have  been  always  so  careful  not  to  trust  any 
spices  out  of  their  proper  islands.  Besides  these  were  prob- 
ably other  things  which  we  had  not  an  opportunity  of  see- 
ing, and  which  Mr.  Lange  forgot  or  did  not  choose  to 
mention. 

All  their  produce  is  in  amazing  abundance,  so  we  judged 
at  least  from  the  plantations  we  saw,  though  this  year  every 
crop  had  failed  for  want  of  rain.  Most  of  them  are  well 
known  to  Europeans :  I  shall,  however,  spend  a  little  ink  in 
describing  such  only  as  are  not,  or  as  differ  at  all  in  appear- 
ance from  those  commonly  known.  To  begin  then  with 
buffaloes,  of  which  they  have  got  good  store ;  these  beasts 
differ  from  our  cattle  in  Europe  in  their  ears,  which  are 
considerably  larger,  in  their  skins,  which  are  almost  without 
hair,  and  in  their  horns,  which,  instead  of  bending  forwards 
as  ours  do,  bend  directly  backwards,  and  also  in  their  total 
want  of  dewlaps.  We  saw  some  of  these  as  big  as  well- 
sized  European  oxen,  and  some  there  must  be  much  larger ; 
so  at  least  I  was  led  to  believe  by  a  pair  of  horns  which 
I  measured :  they  were  from  tip  to  tip  3  feet  9|-  inches, 
across  their  widest  diameter  4  feet  1|-  inch;  the  whole 


SEPT.  1770  QUADRUPEDS  .    343 

sweep  of  their  semicircle  in  front  7  feet  6J  inches.  One 
caution  is,  however,  exceedingly  necessary  in  buying  these 
beasts,  which  is  that  one  of  them  of  any  given  size  does  not 
weigh  half  as  much  as  an  ox  of  the  same  size  in  England ; 
in  this  we,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  fact,  were  very  much 
deceived.  The  larger  animals  which  we  guessed  to  be  400 
Ibs.  did  not  weigh  more  than  250,  and  the  smaller  which 
we  guessed  to  be  250  not  more  than  160  ;  this  vast  differ- 
ence proceeded  first  from  a  total  want  of  fat,  of  which  there 
was  not  the  least  sign,  but  more  especially  from  the  thinness 
of  the  flanks,  and  thin  pieces  which  were  literally  nothing 
but  skin  and  bone.  Their  flesh,  notwithstanding  this,  was 
not  bad ;  it  was  well  tasted  and  full  of  gravy :  not  that  I 
can  put  it  on  a  footing  with  the  leanest  beef  in  England, 
yet  I  should  suppose  it  better  than  a  lean  ox  would  be  in 
this  burnt-up  climate. 

Mr.  Lange  told  us  that  when  the  Portuguese  first  came 
to  this  island  there  were  horses  upon  it,  an  opinion  from 
which  I  confess  I  rather  apostatise ;  but,  to  waive  the 
dispute,  horses  are  now  very  plentiful.  They  are  small, 
generally  eleven  or  twelve  hands  high,  but  very  brisk  and 
nimble,  especially  in  pacing,  which  is  their  common  step. 
The  inhabitants  appear  to  be  tolerable  horsemen,  riding 
always  without  a  saddle,  and  generally  with  only  a  halter 
instead  of  a  bridle.  This  is  not,  however,  the  only  benefit 
that  these  islanders  receive  from  them,  for  they  use  them  as 
food,  and  prefer  their  flesh  to  that  of  buffaloes  and  every 
other  sort  but  swine's  flesh,  which  holds  the  highest  rank 
in  their  opinion. 

Their  sheep  are  of  the  kind  that  I  have  seen  in  England 
under  the  name  of  Bengal  sheep ;  they  differ  from  ours  in 
having  hair  instead  of  wool,  in  their  ears  being  very  large 
and  flapping  down,  their  horns  almost  straight,  and  in  their 
noses,  which  are  much  more  arched  than  those  of  our 
European  kind.  These  sheep  are,  I  believe,  very  frequently 
called  cabritos,  from  their  resemblance  to  goats,  which,  though 
I  cannot  say  it  appeared  to  me  at  all  striking,  yet  had  such 
an  effect  on  the  whole  ship's  company,  officers  and  seamen, 


344  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

that  not  one  would  believe  them  to  be  sheep  till  they  heard 
their  voices,  which  are  precisely  the  same  as  those  of  European 
ones.  Their  flesh  was  like  that  of  the  buffaloes,  lean  and 
void  of  flavour,  to  me  the  worst  mutton  I  have  ever  eaten. 

Their  fowls  are  chiefly  of  the  game  breed  and  large ;  but 
the  eggs  are  the  smallest  I  have  ever  seen. 

Besides  these  animals  there  are  great  plenty  of  dogs, 
some  cats  and  rats,  and  a  few  pigeons,  of  which  I  saw  three 
or  four  pair.  Nor  are  any  of  these  animals  exempted  from 
furnishing  their  part  towards  the  support  of  polyphagous 
man,  except  the  rats,  which  alone  they  do  not  eat. 

Fish  appeared  to  us  to  be  scarce,  indeed  it  was  but  little 
valued  by  these  islanders,  none  but  the  very  inferior  people 
ever  eating  it,  and  these  only  at  the  time  when  their  duties 
or  business  required  them  to  be  down  upon  the  sea  beach. 
In  this  case  every  man  was  provided  with  a  light  casting- 
net,  which  was  girt  round  him  and  served  as  part  of  his 
dress  ;  with  this  he  took  any  small  fish  which  might  happen 
to  come  in  his  way.  Turtles  are  scarce ;  they  are  esteemed 
a  good  food,  but  are  very  seldom  taken. 

Of  the  vegetables  most  are  well  known.  The  sweet  sop 
is  a  pleasant  fruit  well  known  to  the  West  Indians.  Blimbi 
alone  is  not  mentioned  by  any  voyage- writer  I  have  met  with  : 
it  is  a  small  oval  fruit,  thickest  in  the  middle  and  tapering  a 
little  to  each  end,  three  or  four  inches  in  length,  and  scarcely 
as  large  as  a  man's  finger ;  the  outside  is  covered  with  very 
thin  skin  of  a  light  green  colour,  and  in  the  inside  are  a  few 
seeds  disposed  in  the  form  of  a  star ;  its  flavour  is  a  light, 
but  very  clean  and  pleasant  acid.  It  cannot  be  eaten  raw, 
but  is  said  to  be  excellent  in  pickles  ;  we  stewed  it  and  made 
sour  sauce  to  our  stews  and  bouilli,  which  was  very  grateful 
to  the  taste,  and  doubtless  possessed  no  small  share  of  anti- 
scorbutic virtues.  But  what  seems  to  be  the  genuine  natural 
production  of  the  island,  and  which  they  have  in  the  greatest 
abundance  and  take  the  most  care  of,  is  the  fan-palm  or  toddy- 
tree  (Borassus  flcibellifer).  Large  groves  of  these  trees  are 
to  be  seen  in  all  parts  of  the  island,  under  which  other  crops, 
as  maize,  indigo,  etc.,  are  planted,  so  that  in  reality  they  take 


SEPT.  1770  FAN-PALM  AND  SYRUP  345 

up  no  room,  though  they  yield  the  treble  advantage  of  fruit, 
liquor,  and  sugar,  all,  but  especially  the  two  last,  in  great 
profusion.  The  leaves  also  serve  to  thatch  their  houses,  and 
to  make  baskets,  umbrellas  (or  rather  small  conical  bonnets), 
caps,  tobacco  pipes,  etc.  etc.  The  fruit,  which  is  least 
esteemed,  is  also  in  the  least  plenty ;  it  is  a  nut  about  as 
big  as  a  child's  head,  covered  like  a  cocoanut  with  a  fibrous 
coat  under  which  are  three  kernels  which  must  be  eaten 
before  they  are  ripe,  otherwise  they  become  too  hard  to  chew. 
In  their  proper  state  they  a  good  deal  resemble  in  taste  the 
kernel  of  an  unripe  cocoanut,  and  like  them  probably  afford 
but  a  watery  nutriment.  The  excellence  of  the  palm  wine 
or  toddy  which  is  drawn  from  this  tree  makes,  however, 
ample  amends  for  the  poorness  of  its  fruit.  It  is  got  by 
cutting  the  buds,  which  should  produce  flowers,  soon  after 
their  appearance,  and  tying  under  them  a  small  basket  made 
of  the  leaves  of  the  same  tree ;  into  this  the  liquor  drips, 
and  must  be  collected  by  people  who  climb  the  trees  for  that 
purpose  every  morning  and  evening.  This  is  the  common 
drink  of  every  one  upon  the  island,  and  a  very  pleasant  one 
it  was  so  to  us,  even  at  first,  only  rather  too  sweet ;  its  anti- 
scorbutic virtues,  as  the  fresh  unfermented  juice  of  a  tree, 
cannot  be  doubted. 

Notwithstanding  that  this  liquor  is  the  common  drink  of 
both  rich  and  poor,  who  in  the  morning  and  evening  drink 
nothing  else,  a  much  larger  quantity  is  drawn  off  daily  than 
is  sufficient  for  that  use.  Of  this  they  make  a  syrup  and  a 
coarse  sugar,  both  which  are  far  more  agreeable  to  the  taste 
than  they  appear  to  the  sight.  The  liquor  is  called  in  the 
language  of  the  island  dua  or  duac,  the  syrup  and  sugar  by 
one  and  the  same  name,  gula ;  it  is  exactly  the  same  as  the 
jagara  sugar  on  the  continent  of  India,  and  prepared  by 
simply  boiling  down  the  liquor  in  earthenware  pots  until  it 
is  sufficiently  thick.  In  appearance  it  exactly  resembles 
molasses  or  treacle,  only  it  is  considerably  thicker ;  in  taste, 
however,  it  much  excels  it,  having,  instead  of  the  abominable 
twang  which  treacle  leaves  in  the  mouth,  only  a  little  burnt 
flavour,  which  was  very  agreeable  to  our  palates.  The 


346  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

sugar  is  reddish  brown,  but  more  clear  tasted  than  any  un- 
refined cane-sugar,  resembling  mostly  brown  sugar  candy. 
The  syrup  seemed  to  be  very  wholesome,  for  though  many 
of  our  people  ate  enormous  quantities  of  it,  it  hurt 
nobody. 

Firewood  is  very  scarce  here ;  to  remedy,  therefore,  that 
inconvenience  as  much  as  possible,  they  make  use  of  a  con- 
trivance which  is  not  unknown  in  Europe,  though  seldom 
practised  but  in  camps.  It  is  a  burrow  or  pipe  dug  in  the 
ground  as  long  as  convenient,  generally  about  two  yards,  and 
open  at  each  end ;  the  one  opening  of  this,  into  which  they 
put  the  fire,  is  large  ;  the  other,  which  serves  only  to  cause  a 
draught,  is  much  smaller.  Immediately  over  this  pipe  circular 
holes  are  dug  which  reach  quite  down  into  it :  in  these  the 
earthen  pots  are  set  (about  three  to  such  a  fire) ;  they  are 
large  in  the  middle  and  taper  towards  the  bottom,  by  which 
means  the  fire  acts  upon  a  large  part  of  their  surface.  It  is 
really  marvellous  to  see  with  how  small  a  quantity  of  fire 
they  will  keep  these  pots  boiling,  each  of  which  contains 
eight  or  ten  gallons ;  a  palm  leaf  or  a  dry  stalk  now  and 
then  is  sufficient ;  indeed,  it  seemed  in  that  part  of  the  island, 
at  least,  where  we  were,  that  the  palms  alone  supplied 
sufficient  fuel,  not  only  for  boiling  the  sugar,  but  for  dressing 
all  their  victuals,  besides  those  which  are  cooked  by  this  con- 
trivance. How  many  parts  of  England  are  there  where  this 
contrivance  would  be  of  material  assistance  to  not  only  the 
poor,  but  the  better  sort  of  people,  who  daily  complain  of  the 
dearness  of  fuel,  a  charge  which  this  contrivance  alone  would 
doubtless  diminish  by  at  least  one-third.  But  it  is  well  known 
how  averse  the  good  people  of  England,  especially  of  that 
class  that  may  be  supposed  to  be  not  above  want,  are  to 
adopt  any  new  custom  which  savours  of  parsimony.  I  have 
been  told  that  this  very  method  was  proposed  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  many  years  ago,  but  have  not  the  book  on 
board.  Fre'zier,  in  his  voyage  to  the  South  Sea,  describes  a 
contrivance  of  the  Peruvian  Indians  upon  the  same  principles, 
plate  31,  p.  273,  but  his  drawing  and  plan  are  difficult  to 
understand,  if  not  actually  very  faulty,  and  his  description  is 


SEPT.  1770  BOILING  SUGAR  347 

nothing ;  the  drawing  may  serve,  however,  to  give  an  idea  to 
a  man  who  has  never  seen  a  thing  of  the  kind. 

The  syrup  or  gula  which  they  make  in  this  manner  is  so 
nourishing  that  Mr.  Lange  told  us  that  it  alone  fed  and 
fattened  their  hogs,  dogs,  and  fowls,  and  that  men  themselves 
could  and  had  sometimes  lived  upon  it  alone  for  a  long  time, 
when  by  bad  seasons,  or  their  destructive  feasts,  which  I 
shall  mention  by  and  by,  they  have  been  deprived  of  all  other 
nourishment.  We  saw  some  of  the  swine,  whose  uncommon 
fatness  surprised  us  much,  which  very  beasts  we  saw  one 
evening  served  with  their  suppers,  consisting  of  nothing  but 
the  outside  husks  of  rice  and  this  syrup  dissolved  in  water. 
This  they  told  us  was  their  constant  and  only  food ;  how  far 
it  may  be  found  consonant  to  truth  that  sugar  alone  should 
have  such  nourishing  qualities  I  shall  leave  to  others  to 
determine ;  I  have  only  accounts,  not  experience,  to  favour 
that  opinion. 

The  people  of  this  island  are  rather  under  than  over  the 
middling  size,  the  women  especially,  most  of  whom  are  remark- 
ably short  and  generally  squat  built.  Their  colour  is  well 
tinged  with  brown,  and  in  all  ranks  and  conditions  nearly  the 
same,  in  which  particular  they  differ  much  from  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  South  Sea  Isles,  where  the  better  sort  of  people 
are  almost  universally  whiter  than  their  inferiors.  The  men 
are  rather  well  made,  and  seem  to  be  active  and  nimble ; 
among  them  we  observed  a  greater  variety  of  features  than 
usual.  The  women  on  the  other  hand  are  far  from  handsome, 
and  have  a  kind  of  sameness  of  features  among  them  which 
might  well  account  for  the  chastity  of  the  men,  for  which 
virtue  this  island  is  said  to  be  remarkable.  The  hair  of  both 
sexes  is  universally  black  and  lank ;  the  men  wear  it  long, 
and  fastened  upon  the  tops  of  their  heads  with  a  comb ;  the 
women  have  theirs  also  long,  and  tied  behind  into  a  kind  of 
not  very  becoming  club. 

Both  men  and  women  dress  in  a  kind  of  blue  and  white 
clouded  cotton  cloth,  which  they  manufacture  themselves  : 
of  this  two  pieces,  each  about  two  yards  long,  serve  for  a 
dress.  One  of  these  is  worn  round  the  middle ;  this  the 


348  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

men  wear  pretty  tight,  but  it  makes  a  kind  of  loose  belt,  in 
which  they  carry  their  knives,  etc.,  and  often  many  other 
things,  so  that  it  serves  entirely  the  purpose  of  pockets. 
The  other  piece  is  tucked  into  this  girdle,  and  reaching  over 
the  shoulders,  passes  down  to  the  girdle  on  the  other  side,  so 
that  by  opening  or  folding  it  they  can  cover  more  or  less  of 
their  bodies  as  they  please.  The  arms,  legs,  and  feet  of 
both  sexes  are  consequently  bare,  as  are  the  heads  of  the 
women,  which  is  their  chief  distinction  by  which  they  are 
at  once  known  from  the  men,  who  always  wear  something 
wrapped  round  theirs,  which,  though  small,  is  of  the  finest 
material  they  can  procure ;  many  we  saw  had  silk  handker- 
chiefs, which  seemed  to  be  much  in  fashion. 

The  distinction  of  the  women's  dress,  except  only  the 
head,  consists  merely  in  the  manner  of  wearing  their  clothes, 
which  are  of  the  same  materials  and  the  same  quality  as 
the  men's.  Their  waist -cloths  reach  down  below  the 
knees,  and  their  body-cloths  are  tied  under  their  arms  and 
over  their  breasts.  Both  sexes  eradicate  the  hair  from 
under  their  armpits,  a  custom  in  these  hot  climates  almost 
essential  to  cleanliness  ;  the  men  also  pluck  out  their  beards, 
for  which  purpose  the  better  sort  carry  always  a  pair  of 
silver  pincers  hanging  round  their  necks :  some,  however, 
wear  a  little  hair  on  their  upper  lips,  but  they  never  suffer 
it  to  grow  long. 

Ornaments  they  have  many ;  some  of  the  better  sort  wear 
gold  chains  round  their  necks,  but  these  were  chiefly  made 
of  plated  wire  of  little  value  ;  others  had  rings  which,  by 
their  appearance,  seemed  to  have  been  worn  out  some 
generations  ago.  One  had  a  silver-headed  cane,  on  the  top 
of  which  was  engraved  ~§fi,  so  that  it  had  probably  been  a 
present  from  the  East  India  Company.  Besides  these,  beads 
were  worn,  chiefly  by  the  men  of  distinction,  round  their  necks 
in  the  form  of  a  solitaire ;  others  had  them  round  their 
wrists,  etc.,  but  the  women  had  the  largest  quantity,  which 
they  wore  round  their  waists  in  the  form  of  a  girdle,  serving 
to  keep  up  their  waist-cloths.  Both  sexes  universally  had 
their  ears  bored,  but  we  never  saw  any  ornaments  in  them, 


SEPT.  1770  DRESS  AND  HABITS  349 

indeed,  we  never  saw  any  one  man  dressed  the  whole  time 
we  were  there  in  anything  more  than  his  ordinary  clothes. 
Some  boys  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age  wore  circles  of 
thick  brass  wire,  passed  screw-fashion  three  or  four  times 
round  their  arms  above  the  elbow  :  and  some  men  wore 
convex  rings  of  ivory,  two  inches  in  breadth,  and  above  an 
inch  in  thickness,  in  the  same  manner  above  the  joint  of  the 
elbow.  These  we  were  told  were  the  sons  of  Eadjas,  who 
alone  had  the  privilege  of  wearing  these  cumbersome  badges 
of  high  birth. 

Almost  all  the  men  had  their  names  traced  upon  their 
arms  in  indelible  characters  of  black ;  the  women  had  a 
square  ornament  of  nourished  lines  on  the  inner  part  of  each 
arm,  just  under  the  bend  of  the  elbow ;  on  inquiring  into 
the  antiquity  of  this  custom,  so  consonant  with  that  of 
tattowing  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  Mr.  Lange  told  us  that 
it  had  been  among  these  people  long  before  the  Europeans 
came  here,  but  was  less  used  in  this  than  in  most  islands 
in  the  neighbourhood,  in  some  of  which  the  people  marked 
circles  round  their  necks,  breasts,  etc. 

Both  sexes  are  continually  employed  in  chewing  betel 
and  areca ;  the  consequence  is  that  their  teeth,  as  long  as 
they  have  any,  are  dyed  of  that  filthy  black  colour  which 
constantly  attends  the  rottenness  of  a  tooth,  for  it  appears 
to  me  that  from  their  first  use  of  this  custom,  which  they 
begin  very  young,  their  teeth  are  affected  and  continue  by 
gradual  degrees  to  waste  away  till  they  are  quite  worn  to 
the  stumps,  which  seems  to  happen  before  old  age.  I  have 
seen  men,  in  appearance  between  twenty  and  thirty,  whose 
fore  teeth  were  almost  entirely  gone,  no  two  being  of  the 
same  length  or  the  same  thickness,  but  every  one  eaten  to 
unevenness  as  iron  is  by  rust.  This  loss  of  the  teeth  is 
attributed  by  all  whose  writings  on  the  subject  I  have  read, 
to  the  tough  and  stringy  coat  of  the  areca  nut,  but  in  my 
opinion  is  much  more  easily  accounted  for  by  the  well- 
known  corrosive  quality  of  the  lime,  which  is  a  necessary 
ingredient  in  every  mouthful,  and  that  too  in  no  very 
insignificant  quantity.  This  opinion  seems  to  me  to  be 


350  DESCRIPTION   OF   SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

almost  put  out  of  dispute  by  the  manner  in  which  their 
teeth  are  destroyed  ;  they  are  not  loosened  or  drawn  out  as 
they  would  be  by  the  too  frequent  labour  of  chewing  tough 
substances,  but  melt  away  and  decay  as  metals  in  strong 
acids ;  the  stumps  always  remaining  firmly  adhering  to  the 
jaws,  just  level  with  the  gums.  Possibly  the  ill-effects 
which  sugar  is  believed  by  us  Europeans  to  have  upon  the 
teeth  may  proceed  from  the  same  cause,  as  it  is  well  known 
that  refined  or  loaf-sugar  contains  in  it  a  large  quantity  of 
lime. 

To  add  flavour,  I  suppose,  to  the  betel  and  areca,  some 
use  with  it  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco,  adding  the  nauseous 
smell  of  that  herb  to  the  not  less  disagreeable  look  of  the 
other,  as  if  they  were  resolved  to  make  their  mouths  dis- 
gustful to  the  sense  of  smell  as  well  as  that  of  sight. 
They  also  smoke,  rolling  up  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco  in 
one  end  of  a  palm  leaf,  about  as  thick  as  a  quill  and  six 
inches  long ;  of  this  not  above  one  inch  is  filled  with  tobacco, 
so  that  the  quantity  is  very  small.  To  make  amends  for 
this  the  women  especially  often  swallow  the  smoke,  which 
no  doubt  increases  its  effects  in  no  small  degree. 

Their  houses  are  all  built  upon  one  and  the  same  plan, 
differing  only  in  size  according  to  the  rank  and  riches  of 
the  proprietors,  some  being  300  or  400  feet  in  length,  and 
others  not  20.  They  consist  of  a  well-boarded  floor,  raised 
upon  posts  three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground ;  over  this  is 
raised  a  roof  shelving  like  ours  in  Europe,  and  supported  by 
pillars  of  its  own,  independent  of  the  floor.  The  eaves  of 
this  reach  within  two  feet  of  the  floor,  but  overhang  it  by 
as  much ;  this  arrangement  serves  to  let  in  air  and  light, 
and  makes  them  very  cool  and  agreeable.  The  space  within 
is  generally  divided  into  two  by  a  partition,  which  takes  off 
one -third:  in  front  of  this  partition  is  a  loft,  shut  up 
close  on  all  sides,  raised  about  six  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
occupying  the  centre  of  the  house.  There  are  sometimes 
one  or  two  small  rooms  on  the  sides  of  the  house.  The  use 
of  these  different  apartments  we  did  not  learn,  we  only  were 
told  that  the  loft  was  appropriated  to  the  women. 


SEPT.  1770          WEAVING,  SPINNING,  DYEING  351 

The  shortness  of  our  stay  and  the  few  opportunities  we 
had  of  going  among  these  people,  gave  us  no  opportunity  of 
seeing  what  arts  or  manufactures  they  might  have  among 
them.  That  they  spin,  weave,  and  dye  their  cloth  we,  how- 
ever, made  shift  to  learn,  for  though  we  never  saw  them 
practise  any  of  these  arts,  yet  the  instruments  accidentally 
fell  in  our  way ;  first,  a  machine  for  clearing  cotton  of 
its  seeds,  which  was  in  miniature  much  upon  the  same 
principles  as  ours  in  Europe.  It  consisted  of  two  cylinders 
about  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb,  one  of  which  was  turned 
round  by  a  plain  winch  handle,  and  that  turned  the  other 
round  by  an  endless  worm  at  their  extremities  ;  the  whole 
was  not  above  seven  inches  high  and  about  twice  as  long. 
How  it  answered,  I  know  not,  but  do  know  that  it  had  been 
much  worked,  and  that  there  were  many  pieces  of  cotton 
hanging  on  different  parts  of  it,  which  alone  induced  me  to 
believe  it  a  real  machine,  otherwise,  from  its  slightness,  I 
should  have  taken  it  for  no  more  than  a  Dutch  toy  of  the 
best  sort.  Their  spinning  gear  I  also  once  saw  ;  it  consisted 
of  a  bobbin  on  ;  hich  a  small  quantity  of  thread  was  wound, 
and  a  kind  of  distaff  filled  with  cotton,  from  whence  I  con- 
jecture that  they  spin  by  hand,  as  our  women  in  Europe 
did  before  wheels  were  introduced,  and  I  am  told  still  do  in 
some  parts  of  Europe  where  that  improvement  is  not 
received.  Their  loom  I  also  saw ;  it  had  this  merit  over 
ours,  that  the  web  was  not  stretched  on  a  frame,  but  only 
extended  by  a  piece  of  wood  at  each  end,  round  one  of 
which  the  cloth  was  rolled  as  the  threads  were  round  the 
other.  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of  seeing  it  used,  so  cannot 
at  all  describe  it ;  I  can  say  only  that  it  appeared  very  simple, 
much  more  so  than  ours,  and  that  the  shuttle  was  as  long 
as  the  breadth  of  the  web,  which  was  about  half  a  yard. 
From  this  circumstance,  and  the  unsteadiness  of  a  web  fixed 
to  nothing,  the  work  must  in  all  probability  go  on  very 
slowly.  That  they  dyed  their  own  cloth  we  first  guessed  by 
the  indigo  which  we  saw  in  their  plantations,  which  guess 
was  afterwards  confirmed  by  Mr.  Lange.  We  likewise  saw 
them  dye  women's  girdles  of  a  dirty,  reddish  colour  ;  their 


352  DESCRIPTION  OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

cloth  itself  was  universally  dyed  in  the  yarn  with  blue, 
which,  being  unevenly  and  irregularly  done,  gave  the  cloth 
a  clouding  or  waving  of  colour,  not  inelegant  even  in  our 
eyes. 

One  chirurgical  operation  of  theirs  Mr.  Lange  mentioned 
to  us  with  great  praise,  and  indeed  it  appears  sensible.  It 
is  a  method  of  curing  wounds,  which  they  do  by  first  wash- 
ing the  wound  in  water  in  which  tamarinds  have  been 
steeped,  then  plugging  it  up  with  a  pledget  of  the  fat  of 
fresh  pork.  In  this  manner  the  wound  is  thoroughly 
cleansed,  and  the  pledget  renewed  every  day.  He  told  us 
that  by  this  means  they  had  a  very  little  while  ago  cured  a 
man  in  three  weeks  of  a  wound  from  a  lance  which  had 
pierced  his  arm  and  half  through  his  body.  This  is  the 
only  part  of  their  medicinal  or  chirurgical  art  which  came 
to  our  knowledge ;  indeed,  they  did  not  seem  to  outward 
appearance  to  have  much  occasion  for  either,  but  on  the 
contrary  appeared  healthy,  and  did  not  show,  by  scars  of 
old  sores  or  any  scurviness  upon  their  bodies,  a  tendency  to 
disease.  Some,  indeed,  were  pitted  with  the  smallpox, 
which  Mr.  Lange  told  us  had  been  now  and  then  among 
them ;  in  which  case  all  who  were  seized  by  the  distemper 
were  carried  to  lonely  places,  far  from  habitations,  where 
they  were  left  to  the  influence  of  their  distemper,  meat  only 
being  daily  reached  to  them  by  the  assistance  of  a  long 
pole. 

Their  religion,  according  to  the  account  of  Mr.  Lange,  is 
a  most  absurd  kind  of  paganism,  every  man  choosing  his 
own  god,  and  also  his  mode  of  worshipping  him,  in  which 
hardly  any  two  agree,  notwithstanding  which  their  morals 
are  most  excellent,  Mr.  Lange  declaring  to  us  that  he  did 
not  believe  that  during  his  residence  of  ten  years  upon  the 
island  a  single  theft  had  been  committed.  Polygamy  is  by 
no  means  permitted,  each  man  being  allowed  no  more  than 
one  wife,  to  whom  he  is  to  adhere  during  life ;  even  the 
E-adja  himself  has  no  more. 

The  Dutch  boast  that  they  make  many  converts  to 
Christianity;  Mr.  Lange  said  that  there  were  600  in  the 


SEPT.  1770        RELIGION  AND  ADMINISTRATION  353 

township  of  Seba,  where  we  were.  What  sort  of  Christians 
they  are  I  cannot  say,  as  they  have  neither  clergymen  nor 
church  among  them ;  the  Company  have,  however,  certainly 
been  at  the  expense  of  printing  versions  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, catechisms,  etc.  etc.,  in  this  and  several  other  languages, 
and  actually  keep  a  half-bred  Dutchman,  whose  name  is 
Frederick  Craig,  in  their  service,  who  is  paid  by  them  for 
instructing  the  youth  of  the  island  in  reading,  writing,  and 
the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion.  Dr.  Solander  was 
at  his  house,  and  saw  not  only  the  Testaments  and 
catechisms  before  mentioned,  but  also  the  copy-books  of  the 
scholars. 

The  island  is  divided  into  five  principalities,  each  of  which 
has  its  respective  radja  or  king ;  what  his  power  may  be  we 
had  no  opportunity  of  learning.  In  outward  appearance 
he  had  but  little  recognition  shown  to  him,  yet  every  kind 
of  business  seemed  to  centre  in  him  and  his  chief  councillor, 
so  that  in  reality  he  seemed  to  be  more  regarded  in  essentials 
than  in  showy  useless  ceremonies.  The  reigning  Eadja,  while 
we  were  there,  was  called  Madocho  Lomi  Djara,  he  was 
about  thirty-five,  the  fattest  man  we  saw  upon  the  whole 
island,  and  the  only  one  upon  whose  body  grew  any  quantity 
of  hair,  a  circumstance  very  unusual  among  Indians.  He 
appeared  of  a  heavy,  dull  disposition,  and  I  believe  was 
governed  almost  entirely  by  a  very  sensible  old  man  called 
Mannudjame,  who  was  beloved  by  the  whole  principality. 
Both  these  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  natives 
by  their  dress,  which  was  always  a  night-gown,  generally  of 
coarse  chintz ;  once,  indeed,  the  Eadja  received  us  in  form 
in  one  of  Black  Prince's  stuff,  which  I  suppose  may  be 
looked  upon  as  more  grave  and  proper  to  inspire  respect. 
If  any  differences  arise  between  the  people,  they  are  settled 
by  the  Eadja  and  his  councillors  without  the  least  delay  or 
appeal,  and,  says  Mr.  Lange,  always  with  the  strictest 
justice.  So  excellent  is  the  disposition  of  these  people  that 
if  any  dispute  arise  between  any  two  of  them,  they  never, 
if  it  is  of  consequence,  more  than  barely  mention  it  to 
each  other,  never  allowing  themselves  to  reason  upon  it  lest 

2  A 


354  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

heat  should  beget  ill-blood,  but  refer  it  immediately  to  this 
court. 

After  the  Eadja  we  could  hear  of  no  ranks  of  people  but 
landowners,  respectable  according  to  the  quantity  of  their 
land ;  and  slaves,  the  property  of  the  former,  over  whom, 
however,  they  have  no  other  power  than  that  of  selling 
them  for  what  they  will  fetch,  when  convenient;  no  man 
being  able  to  punish  his  slave  without  the  concurrence  and 
approbation  of  the  Kadja.  Of  these  slaves  some  men  have 
500,  others  only  two  or  three;  what  was  their  price 
in  general  we  did  not  learn,  only  heard  by  accident  that  a 
very  fat  hog  was  of  the  value  of  a  slave,  and  often  bought 
and  sold  at  that  price.  When  any  great  man  stirs  out  he 
is  constantly  attended  by  two  or  more  of  these  slaves,  one 
of  whom  carries  a  sword  or  hanger,  commonly  with  a  silver 
hilt,  and  ornamented  with  large  tassels  of  horse  hair ;  the 
other  carries  a  bag  containing  betel,  areca,  lime,  tobacco, 
etc.  In  these  attendants  all  .their  idea  of  show  and 
grandeur  seems  to  be  centred,  for  we  never  saw  the  Radja 
himself  with  any  more. 

The  pride  of  descent,  particularly  of  being  sprung  from  a 
family  which  has  for  many  generations  been  respected,  is  by 
no  means  unknown  here;  even  living  in  a  house  which  has 
been  for  generations  well  attended  is  no  small  honour.  It  is 
a  consequence  of  this  that  few  articles,  either  of  use  or 
luxury,  bear  so  high  a  price  as  those  stones  which  by  having 
been  very  much  sat  upon  by  men  have  contracted  a  bright 
polish  on  their  uneven  surfaces ;  those  who  can  purchase 
such  stones,  or  who  have  them  by  inheritance  from  their 
ancestors,  place  them  round  their  houses,  where  they  serve 
as  benches  for  their  dependents,  I  suppose  to  be  still  more 
and  more  polished. 

Every  Eadja  during  his  lifetime  sets  up  in  his  capital 
town,  or  nigrie,  a  large  stone,  which  serves  futurity  as  a 
testimony  of  his  reign.  In  the  nigrie  Seba,  where  we  lay, 
were  thirteen  such  stones,  besides  many  fragments,  the 
seeming  remains  of  those  which  had  been  devoured  by  time. 
Many  of  these  were  very  large,  so  much  so  that  it  would  be 


SEPT.  1770     NATIVE  FEASTS— ARMY  AND  ARMS  355 

difficult  to  conceive  how  the  strength  of  man  alone, 
unassisted  by  engines,  had  been  able  to  transport  them  to 
the  top  of  the  hill  where  they  now  stand,  were  there  not  in 
Europe  so  many  far  grander  instances  of  the  perseverance  as 
well  as  the  strength  of  our  own  forefathers.  These  stones  serve 
for  a  very  peculiar  use  ;  upon  the  death  of  a  Eadja  a  general 
feast  is  proclaimed  throughout  his  dominions,  and  in  conse- 
quence all  his  subjects  meet  about  the  stones.  Every  living 
creature  that  can  be  caught  is  now  killed,  and  the  feast 
lasts  a  longer  or  shorter  number  of  weeks  or  months  accord- 
ing to  the  stock  of  provisions  the  kingdom  happens  to  be 
furnished  with  at  the  time.  The  stones  serve  for  tables,  on 
which  whole  buffaloes  are  served  up.  After  this  madness 
is  over,  the  whole  kingdom  is  obliged  to  fast  and  live  upon 
syrup  and  water  till  the  next  crop ;  nor  are  they  able  to  eat 
any  flesh  till  some  years  after,  when  the  few  animals  which 
have  escaped  the  general  slaughter  and  been  preserved  by 
policy,  or  which  they  have  acquired  from  neighbouring 
kingdoms,  have  sufficiently  increased  their  species. 

The  five  kingdoms,  says  Mr.  Lange,  of  which  this  island 
consists,  have  been  from  time  immemorial  not  only  at 
peace,  but  in  strict  alliance  with  each  other ;  notwithstand- 
ing which  they  are  of  a  warlike  disposition, — constant 
friends  but  implacable  enemies, — and  have  always  courage- 
ously defended  themselves  against  foreign  invaders.  They 
are  able  to  raise  on  a  very  short  notice  7300  men,  armed 
with  muskets,  lances,  spears,  and  targets :  of  these  the 
different  kingdoms  bear  their  different  proportions  — 
Laai  2600,  Seba  2000,  Eegeeua  1500,  Timo  800,  and 
Massara  400.  Besides  the  arms  before  mentioned,  every 
man  is  furnished  with  a  large  chopping -knife,  like  a 
straightened  wood-bill,  but  much  heavier,  which  must  be  a 
terrible  weapon,  if  these  people  should  have  spirit  enough 
to  come  to  close  quarters.  Mr.  Lange  upon  another  occa- 
sion took  an  opportunity  of  telling  us  that  they  heave  their 
lances  with  surprising  dexterity,  being  able  at  the  distance 
of  sixty  feet  to  strike  a  man's  heart  and  pierce  him  through. 
How  far  these  dreadful  accounts  of  their  martial  prowess 


356  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

might  be  true  I  dare  not  take  upon  myself  to  determine ; 
all  I  shall  say  is  that  during  our  stay  we  saw  no  signs 
either  of  a  warlike  disposition  or  such  formidable  arms.  Of 
spears  and  targets,  indeed,  there  were  about  a  hundred  in 
the  Dutch  house,  the  largest  of  which  spears  served  to  arm 
the  people  who  came  down  to  intimidate  us ;  but  so  little 
did  these  doughty  heroes  think  of  fighting,  or  indeed  keep- 
ing up  appearances,  that  instead  of  a  target  each  was 
furnished  with  a  cock,  some  tobacco,  or  something  of  that 
kind,  which  he  took  this  opportunity  of  bringing  down  to 
sell.  Their  spears  seem  all  to  have  been  brought  to  them 
by  Europeans,  the  refuse  of  old  armouries,  no  two  being  any- 
thing near  the  same  length,  varying  in  that  particular  from 
six  feet  to  sixteen.  As  for  their  lances,  not  one  of  us  saw 
one.  Their  muskets,  though  clean  on  the  outside,  were 
honeycombed  with  rust  on  the  inside.  Few  or  none  of 
their  cartridge-boxes  had  either  powder  or  ball  in  them. 
To  complete  all,  the  swivels  and  patereroes  at  the  Dutch 
house  were  all  lying  out  of  their  carriages ;  and  the  one 
great  gun  which  lay  before  it  on  a  heap  of  stones  was  not 
only  more  honeycombed  with  rust  than  any  piece  of  artil- 
lery I  have  ever  seen,  but  had  the  touch-hole  turned  down- 
wards, probably  to  conceal  its  size,  which  might  not  be  in 
all  probability  much  less  than  the  bore  of  the  gun  itself. 
The  Dutch,  however,  use  these  islanders  as  auxiliaries  in 
their  wars  against  the  inhabitants  of  Timor,  where  they  do 
good  service ;  their  lives  at  all  events  not  being  nearly  so 
valuable  as  those  of  the  Dutchmen. 

This  island  was  settled  by  the  Portuguese  almost  as  soon 
as  they  went  into  these  seas.  When  the  Dutch  first  came 
here  the  Portuguese,  however,  were  very  soon  wormed  out  by 
the  machinations  of  the  artful  new-comers,  who  not  only 
attempted  to  settle  themselves  in  the  island,  but  also  sent 
sloops  occasionally  to  trade  with  the  natives,  by  whom  they 
were  often  cut  off ;  as  often,  I  suppose,  as  they  cheated  them 
in  too  great  a  degree.  This,  however,  and  the  probably 
increasing  value  of  the  island,  at  last  tempted  them  to  try 
some  other  way  of  securing  it,  and  running  less  risk.  This 


SEPT.  1770          RELATIONS  WITH  THE  DUTCH  357 

took  place  about  ten  years  ago,  when  a  treaty  of  alliance 
was  signed  between  the  five  Eadjas  and  the  Dutch  Com- 
pany ;  in  consequence  of  which  the  Company  is  yearly  to 
furnish  each  of  these  kings  with  a  certain  quantity  of  fine 
linen  and  silk,  cutlery  ware,  etc.,  in  short,  of  any  kind  of 
goods  which  he  wants,  all  which  is  delivered  in  the  form  of 
a  present  accompanied  with  a  certain  cask  of  arrack,  which 
the  Eadja  and  his  principal  people  never  cease  to  drink  as 
long  as  a  drop  of  it  remains.  In  return  for  this,  each  Eadja 
agrees  that  neither  he  nor  his  subjects  shall  trade  with  any 
person  except  the  Company,  unless  they  have  the  permission 
of  their  resident,  that  they  shall  yearly  supply  so  many 
sloop -loads  of  rice,  maize,  and  calevances,  the  maize  and 
calevances  being  sent  off  to  Timor  in  sloops,  which  are  kept 
on  the  island  for  that  purpose.  Each  sloop  is  navigated  by 
ten  Indians.  The  rice  is  taken  away  by  a  ship,  which  at  the 
time  of  the  harvest  comes  to  the  island  annually,  bringing 
the  Company's  presents,  and  anchoring  by  turns  in  each  of 
the  three  bays. 

In  consequence  of  this  treaty,  Mr.  Lange,  a  Portuguese 
Indian,  who  seems  to  be  his  second,  and  a  Dutch  Indian, 
who  serves  for  schoolmaster,  are  permitted  to  live  among 
them. 

Mr.  Lange  himself  is  attended  by  fifty  slaves  on 
horseback,  with  whom  he  every  two  months  makes  the 
tour  of  the  island,  visiting  all  the  Eadjas,  exhorting  those 
to  plant  who  seem  idle ;  and,  observing  where  the  crops  are 
got  in,  he  immediately  sends  sloops  for  them,  navigated  by 
these  same  slaves,  so  that  the  crop  proceeds  immediately 
from  the  ground  to  the  Dutch  storehouses  at  Timor.  In 
these  excursions  he  always  carries  certain  bottles  of  arrack, 
which  he  finds  of  great  use  in  opening  the  hearts  of  the 
Eadjas  with  whom  he  has  to  deal.  Notwithstanding  the 
boasted  honesty  of  these  people,  it  requires  his  utmost 
diligence  to  keep  the  arrack  from  his  slaves,  who,  in  spite  of 
all  his  care,  often  ease  him  of  a  great  part  of  it.  During 
the  ten  years  that  he  has  resided  on  this  island  no  European 
but  himself  has  ever  been  here,  except  at  the  time  of  the 


358 


DESCRIPTION  OF  SAVU 


CHAP.  XV 


arrival  of  the  Dutch  ship  which  had  sailed  about  two 
months  before  we  came.  He  is  indeed  distinguishable 
from  the  Indians  only  by  his  colour;  like  them  he  sits 
upon  the  ground  and  chews  his  betel,  etc.  He  has  been 
for  some  years  married  to  an  Indian  woman  of  the  island 
of  Timor,  who  keeps  his  house  in  the  Indian  fashion,  and  he 
excused  himself  to  us  for  not  asking  us  to  his  house, 
telling  us  he  was  not  able  to  entertain  us  in  any  other 
way  than  the  rest  of  the  Indians  whom  we  saw.  He 
speaks  neither  German,  his  native  language,  nor  Dutch, 
without  frequent  hesitations  and  mistakes  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Indian  language  seems  to  flow  from  him  with  the 
utmost  facility.  As  I  forgot  to  mention  this  language  in 
its  proper  place,  I  shall  take  this  opportunity  to  write 
down  the  few  observations  I  had  an  opportunity  of  making 
during  our  short  stay.  The  genius  of  it  seems  much  to 
resemble  that  of  the  South  Sea  Isles ;  in  several  instances 
the  words  are  exactly  the  same,  and  the  numbers  are 
undoubtedly  derived  from  the  same  source.  I  give  here  a 
list  of  words  : — 


Momonne 

a  man 

Wurroo 

the  moon 

Mobunnea 

a  woman 

Aidassec 

the  sea 

Catoo 

the  head 

Ailei 

water 

Row  Catoo 

the  hair 

Aee 

fire 

Malta 

the  eyes 

Maate 

to  dye 

Rowna  Matta 

the  eyelashes 

Tabudje 

to  sleep 

Swanga 

the  nose 

Ta  teetoo 

to  rise 

Cavaranga 

the  cheeks 

Tooga 

the  thighs 

"Wodecloo 

the  ears 

Rootoo 

the  knees 

Vaio 

the  tongue 

Baibo 

the  legs 

Lacoco 

the  neck 

Dunceala 

the  feet 

Soosoo 

the  breasts 

Kissovei  yilla 

the  toes 

Caboo  Soosoo 

the  nipples 

Camacoo 

the  arms 

Dulloo 

the  belly 

Wulaba 

the  hand 

Assoo 

the  navel 

Cabaou 

a  buffalo 

Carow 

the  tail 

Djara 

a  horse 

Pangoutoo 

the  beak 

Vavee 

a  hog 

lea 

the  fish 

Doomba 

a  sheep 

Unjoo 

a  turtle 

Kesavoo 

a  goat 

Nicu 

cocoanut 

Guaca 

a  dog 

Braceree 

fan  -palm 

Maio 

a  cat 

Calella 

areca 

Mannu 

a  fowl 

Canana 

betel 

Usse 

1 

Aou 

lime 

Lhua 

2 

Maanadoo 

a  fish-hook 

Tullu 

3 

Tata 

tattoo 

Uppah 

4 

Lodo 

the  sun 

Lumme 

5 

SEPT.  1770  LANGUAGE— TIMOR  359 


Unna 

6 

Lhuangooroo,  etc. 

20 

Pedu 

7 

Sing  Assu,  etc. 

100 

Arm 

8 

Setuppah,  etc. 

1000 

Saou 

9 

Selacussa,  etc. 

10,000 

Singooroo 

10 

Serata,  etc. 

100,000 

SingooringUsse,  etc. 

11 

Sereboo,  etc. 

1,000,000 

In  the  course  of  conversation  Mr.  Lange  gave  us  little 
accounts  of  the  neighbouring  islands  ;  these  I  shall  set  down 
just  as  he  gave  them,  merely  upon  his  authority. 

The  small  island  to  the  westward  of  Savu,  he  said, 
produces  nothing  of  consequence  except  areca  nuts,  of  which 
the  Dutch  annually  receive  two  sloop-loads  in  return  for 
their  presents  to  the  islanders. 

Timor  is  the  chief  island  in  these  parts  belonging  to  the 
Dutch,  all  the  others  in  the  neighbourhood  being  subject  to 
it  in  so  far  as  that  the  residents  on  them  go  there  once  a 
year  to  pass  their  accounts.  It  is  now  nearly  in  the  same 
state  that  it  was  in  Dampier's  time.  The  Dutch  have  their 
fort  of  Concordia,  where  are  storehouses,  which,  according 
to  Mr.  Lange's  account,  would  have  supplied  our  ship  with 
every  article  we  could  have  got  at  Batavia,  even  salt  provi- 
sions and  arrack.  The  Dutch,  however,  are  very  frequently 
at  war  with  the  natives,  even  of  Copang,1  their  next  neigh- 
bours, in  which  case  they  are  themselves  obliged  to  send  to 
the  neighbouring  isles  for  provisions.  The  Portuguese  still 
possess  their  towns  of  Laphao  and  Sesial  on  the  north  side 
of  the  island. 

About  two  years  ago  a  French  ship  was  wrecked  upon 
the  east  coast  of  Timor.  She  lay  some  days  upon  the  shoal, 
when  a  sudden  gale  of  wind  coming  on  broke  her  up  at 
once  and  drowned  most  of  the  crew,  among  whom  was  the 
captain.  Those  who  got  ashore,  among  whom  was  one  of 
the  lieutenants,  made  the  best  of  their  ways  towards 
Concordia,  where  they  arrived  in  four  days,  having  left 
several  of  their  party  upon  the  road.  Their  number  was 
above  eighty ;  they  were  supplied  with  every  necessary,  and 
had  assistance  given  them  in  order  to  go  back  to  the 
wreck  and  fish  up  what  they  could.  This  they  did,  and 

1  Part  of  Timor,  near  Concordia. 


360  DESCRIPTION   OF  SAVU  CHAP,  xv 

recovered  all  their  bullion,  which  was  in  chests,  and  several 
of  their  guns,  which  were  large.  Their  companions  which 
they  had  left  upon  the  road  were  all  missing ;  the  Indians 
it  was  supposed  had  either  by  force  or  persuasion  kept  them 
among  them,  as  they  are  very  desirous  of  having  Europeans 
among  them  to  instruct  them  in  the  art  of  war.  After  a 
stay  of  two  months  at  Concordia,  their  company  was 
diminished  more  than  half  by  sickness,  chiefly  in  consequence 
of  the  great  fatigues  they  had  endured  in  the  days  when 
they  got  ashore,  and  travelled  to  that  place.  These  were 
then  furnished  with  a  small  ship,  in  which  they  sailed  for 
Europe. 

We  inquired  much  for  the  island  qf  Andbao  or  Anambao, 
mentioned  by  Dampier ;  he  assured  us  that  he  knew  of  no 
island  of  that  name  anywhere  in  these  seas.  I  since  have 
observed  that  it  is  laid  down  in  several  charts  by  the  name 
of  Selam?  which  is  probably  the  real  name  of  it.  Rotte  is 
upon  much  the  same  footing  as  Savu :  a  Dutchman  resides 
upon  it  to  manage  the  natives ;  its  produce  is  also  much 
like  that  of  Savu.  It  has  also  some  sugar,  which  was 
formerly  made  by  simply  bruising  the  canes  and  boiling  the 
juice  to  a  syrup,  as  they  do  the  palm  wine ;  lately,  however, 
they  have  made  great  improvements  in  that  manufacture. 
There  are  three  islands  of  the  name  of  Solar  lying  to  the 
eastward  of  Ende  or  Flares:  they  are  flat  and  low,  abound- 
ing with  vast  quantity  of  provisions  and  stock :  they  are 
also  managed  in  the  same  manner  as  Savu.  On  the  middle- 
most of  them  is  a  good  harbour,  the  other  two  are  without 
shelter.  Ende  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  who 
have  a  town  and  good  harbour  called  Larntuca  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  it :  the  old  harbour  of  Ende,  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  it,  is  not  nearly  so  good,  and  therefore  now 
entirely  neglected. 

The  inhabitants  of  each  of  these  different  islands  speak 
different  languages,  and  the  chief  policy  of  the  Dutch 
is  to  prevent  them  from  learning  each  other's  language, 
as  by  this  means  the  Dutch  keep  them  to  their  respective 

1  The  real  name  is  Semau.     (Note  by  Banks.) 


SEPT.  1770  ISLANDS  NEAR  SAVU  361 

islands,  preventing  them  from  entering  into  traffic  with  each 
other,  or  learning  from  mutual  intercourse  to  plant  such 
things  as  would  be  of  greater  value  to  themselves  than  their 
present  produce,  though  less  beneficial  to  the  Dutch  East 
India  Company.  The  Dutch  at  the  same  time  secure  to 
themselves  the  benefit  of  supplying  all  their  necessities  at 
their  own  rates,  no  doubt  not  very  moderate.  This  may 
possibly  sufficiently  account  for  the  expense  they  must  have 
been  at  in  printing  prayer-books,  catechisms,  etc.,  and  teach- 
ing them  to  each  island  in  its  own  language  rather  than  in 
Dutch,  which  in  all  probability  they  might  have  as  easily 
done,  but  at  the  risk  of  Dutch  becoming  the  common 
language  of  the  islands,  and  consequently  of  the  natives  by 
its  means  gaining  an  intercourse  with  each  other. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SAVU    ISLAND    TO    BATAVIA 
SEPT.  21— DEC.  24,  1770 

Leave  Savu — Arrive  off  Java — European  and  American  news — Formalities 
required  by  Dutch  authorities — Mille  Islands — Batavia  road — Land  at 
Batavia — Prices  and  food  at  the  hotel — Tupia's  impressions  of  Batavia — 
Introduction  to  the  Governor  —  Malarious  climate  —  Bougainville's 
visit  to  Batavia — Orders  given  to  heave  down  the  ship — Illness  of  Tupia, 
Dr.  Banks,  Dr.  Solander,  etc.— Death  of  Mr.  Monkhouse,  Tayeto,  and 
Tupia — Remove  to  a  country-house — Malay  women  as  nurses — Critical 
state  of  Dr.  Solander — Ship  repaired — Captain  Cook  taken  ill — Heavy 
rains — Frogs  and  mosquitos — Return  to  the  ship. 

21st.  Notwithstanding  that  our  friend  Mr.  Lange  invited  us 
very  kindly  last  night  to  come  ashore  again  in  the  morning, 
and  that  we  saw  divers  jars  of  syrup,  a  sheep,  etc.,  waiting 
for  us  upon  the  beach,  a  sure  sign  that  the  Eadja's  pro- 
hibition was  not  intended  to  prejudice  trade  in  the  least,  we, 
who  had  now  got  plenty  of  all  the  refreshments  which  the  isle 
afforded,  thought  it  most  prudent  to  weigh  and  sail  directly 
for  Batavia ;  all  our  fears  of  westerly  winds  being  dissipated 
by  Mr.  Lange  assuring  us  that  the  easterly  monsoon  would 
prevail  for  two  months  longer.  Accordingly  we  did  so, 
and  soon  passed  by  the  small  island  lying  to  the  west 
about  a  league  from  Savu ;  its  name  I  have  unluckily 
forgotten  (Pulo  Samiri,  or  something  like  it,  maybe).  One 
of  the  buffaloes  which  was  killed  weighed  only  166  Ibs.,  which 
was  a  great  drawback  on  our  expectations,  as  we  had  thought 
that  even  that,  though  much  the  smallest  of  our  stock,  would 
not  weigh  less  than  300  Ibs. 

1st  October.  About  midnight  land  was  seen,  which  in  the 


OCT.  1770  STRAITS  OF  SUNDA  363 

morning  proved  to  be  Java  Head  and  Prince's  Island.  At 
night  we  had  passed  Cracatoa. 

2nd.  We  espied  two  large  ships  lying  at  anchor  behind 
Anger  Point ;  we  came  to  an  anchor,  and  sent  a  boat  on 
board  the  ships  for  news.  They  were  Dutch  East  India- 
men  ;  one  bound  for  Cochin  and  the  coast  of  Coromandel ; 
the  other  for  Ceylon.  Their  captains  received  our  officer 
very  politely,  and  told  him  some  European  news ;  as, 
that  the  government  in  England  were  in  the  utmost  dis- 
order, the  people  crying  up  and  down  the  streets  "  Down 
with  King  George,  King  Wilkes  for  ever,"  that  the  Americans 
had  refused  to  pay  taxes  of  any  kind,  the  consequence  of 
which  being  that  a  large  force  had  been  sent  there,  both  of 
sea  and  land  forces ;  that  the  party  of  Polanders,  who  had 
been  forced  into  the  late  election  by  the  Eussians  inter- 
fering, had  asked  assistance  of  the  Grand  Signior,  who  had 
granted  it,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Eussians  had  sent 
twenty  sail  of  the  line,  and  a  large  army  by  land  to  besiege 
Constantinople,  etc.  etc.  etc.  With  regard  to  our  present 
circumstances,  they  told  us  that  our  passage  to  Batavia 
was  likely  to  be  very  tedious,  as  we  should  have  a  strong 
current  constantly  against  us,  and  at  this  time  of  the  year 
calms  and  light  breezes  were  the  only  weather  we  had  to 
expect.  They  said  also  that  near  where  they  lay  was  a 
Dutch  packet  boat,  whose  business  it  was  to  go  on  board  all 
ships  coming  through  the  straits  to  inquire  of  them  their 
news,  and  carry  or  send  their  letters  to  Batavia  with  the 
utmost  despatch,  which  business  they  said  her  skipper  was 
obliged  to  do  even  for  foreigners,  if  they  desired  it.  This 
skipper,  if  we  wanted  refreshments,  would  furnish  us  with 
fowls,  turtle,  etc.,  at  a  very  cheap  rate. 

3rd.  The  Dutch  packet  of  which  we  had  been  told  yester- 
day, and  which  proved  to  be  a  sloop  of  no  inconsiderable  size, 
had  been  standing  after  us  all  the  morning,  and  still  continued 
to  do  so,  gaining  however  but  little,  till  a  foul  wind  sprang 
up,  on  which  she  bore  away.  At  night  an  Indian  proa 
came  on  board,  bringing  the  master  of  the  sloop.  He 
brought  with  him  two  books,  in  one  of  which  he  desired 


364  SAVU   ISLAND  TO   BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvi 

that  any  of  our  officers  would  write  down  the  name  of  the 
ship,  commander's  name,  where  we  came  from,  and  where 
bound,  with  any  particulars  we  chose  relating  to  ourselves, 
for  the  information  of  any  of  our  friends  who  might  come 
after  us,  as  we  saw  that  some  ships,  especially  Portuguese, 
had  done.  This  book,  he  told  us,  was  kept  merely  for  the 
information  of  those  who  might  come  through  these  straits. 
In  the  other,  which  was  a  fair  book,  he  entered  the  names 
of  the  ships  and  commanders,  which  only  were  sent  to  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  the  Indies.  On  our  writing 
down  Europe  as  the  place  we  had  come  from,  he  said : 
"Very  well,  anything  you  please,  but  this  is  merely  for 
the  information  of  your  friends."  In  the  proa  were 
some  small  turtle,  many  fowls  and  ducks,  also  parrots, 
parroquets,  rice-birds  and  monkeys,  some  few  of  which  we 
bought,  paying  a  dollar  for  a  small  turtle,  and  the  same,  at 
first  for  ten,  afterwards  for  fifteen  large  fowls,  two  monkeys, 
or  a  whole  cage  of  paddy-birds. 

4:th.  Calm  with  light  breezes,  not  sufficient  to  stem  the 
current,  which  was  very  strong.  To  make  our  situation  as 
tantalising  as  possible,  innumerable  proas  were  sailing  about 
us  in  all  directions.  A  boat  was  sent  ashore  for  grass,  and 
landed  at  an  Indian  town,  where  by  hard  bargaining 
some  cocoanuts  were  bought  at  about  three  halfpence 
apiece,  and  rice  in  the  straw  at  about  five  farthings  a  gallon. 
Neither  here,  nor  in  any  other  place  where  we  have  had 
connections  with  them,  would  they  take  any  money  but 
Spanish  dollars.  Large  quantities  of  that  floating  substance 
which  I  have  mentioned  before  under  the  name  of  sea- 
sawdust,  had  been  seen  ever  since  we  came  into  the  straits, 
and  particularly  to-day.  Among  it  were  many  leaves,  fruits, 
old  stalks  of  plantain  trees,  plants  of  Pistia  stratiotes,  and 
such  like  trash,  from  whence  we  almost  concluded  that  it 
came  out  of  some  river. 

5th.  Early  in  the  morning  a  proa  came  on  board,  bring- 
ing a  Dutchman,  who  said  that  his  post  was  much  like 
that  of  the  man  who  was  on  board  on  the  3rd.  He 
presented  a  printed  paper,  of  which  he  had  copies  in 


OCT.  1770  MILLE  ISLANDS  365 

English,  French,  and  Dutch,  regularly  signed  in  the  name 
of  the  Governor.  These  he  desired  we  would  give  written 
answers  to,  which  he  told  us  would  be  sent  express  to 
Batavia,  where  they  would  arrive  to-morrow  at  noon.  He 
had  in  the  boat  turtle  and  eggs,  of  which  latter  he  sold  a 
few  for  somewhat  less  than  a  penny  apiece,  and  then  went 
away. 

The  day  was  spent  as  usual  in  getting  up  and  letting 
down  the  anchor.  At  night,  however,  we  were  very  near 
Bantam  Point. 

8th.  At  eight  Dr.  Solander  and  I  went  ashore  on  a 
small  islet  belonging  to  the  Mille  Isles,  not  laid  down  in 
the  draught,  lying  five  miles  N".  by  E.  from  Pulo  Bedroe. 
The  whole  was  not  above  500  yards  long,  and  100  broad, 
yet  on  it  was  a  house  and  a  small  plantation,  in  which, 
however,  at  this  time  was  no  plant  from  whence  any  profit 
could  be  derived,  except  Eicinus  palma  Cfiristi,  of  which 
castor -oil  is  made  in  the  "West  Indies,  Upon  the  shoal, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  island,  were  two  people 
in  a  canoe,  who  seemed  to  hide  themselves  as  if  afraid  of 
us ;  we  supposed  them  to  be  the  inhabitants  of  our  island. 
We  found  very  few  species  of  plants,  but  shot  a  bat,  whose 
wings  measured  three  feet  when  stretched  out  (Vesp.  vam- 
pyrus),  and  four  plovers  exactly  like  our  English  golden 
plover  (Charadrius  pluvialis).  With  these  and  the  few 
plants  we  returned,  and  very  soon  after  a  small  Indian 
boat  came  alongside,  having  in  her  three  turtles,  some  dried 
fish,  and  pumpkins.  We  bought  his  turtles,  which  weighed 
altogether  146  Ibs.,  for  a  dollar,  with  which  bargain  he 
seemed  well  pleased,  but  could  scarce  be  prevailed  upon  to 
take  any  other  coin  for  his  pumpkins,  after  desiring  that  we 
would  cut  a  dollar  and  give  him  a  part.  At  last,  however, 
a  petack,  shining  and  well -coined,  tempted  him  to  part 
with  his  stock,  which  consisted  of  twenty-six.  He  told  us 
that  the  island,  called  in  most  draughts  Pulo  Bali,  was 
really  called  Pulo  Sounda,  and  that  called  Pulo  Bedroe,  Pulo 
Payon.  At  parting  he  made  signs  that  we  should  not  tell 
at  Batavia  that  any  boat  had  been  on  board  us. 


366  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvi 

9th.  Before  four  we  were  at  anchor  in  Batavia  road.  A 
boat  came  immediately  on  board  us  from  a  ship  which  had 
a  broad  pendant  flying ;  the  officer  on  board  inquired  who 
we  were,  etc.,  and  immediately  returned.  Both  he  and  his 
people  were  pale  almost  as  spectres,  no  good  omen  of  the 
healthiness  of  the  country  we  had  arrived  at.  Our  people, 
however,  who  might  truly  be  called  rosy  and  plump  (for  we 
had  not  a  sick  man  among  us),  jeered  and  flaunted  much  at 
their  brother  seamen's  white  faces.  By  this  time  our  boat 
was  ready  and  went  ashore  with  the  first  lieutenant,  who 
had  orders  to  acquaint  the  commanding  officer  ashore  of  our 
arrival.  At  night  he  returned,  having  met  with  a  very  civil 
reception  from  the  She/bandar,  who,  -though  no  military 
officer,  took  cognizance  of  all  these  things.  I  forgot  to  men- 
tion before  that  we  found  here  the  Harcourt  Indiaman,  Captain 
Paul,  and  two  English  private  traders  from  the  coast  of 
India. 

~LOth.  After  breakfast  this  morning  we  all  went  ashore 
in  the  pinnace,  and  immediately  went  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Leith,  the  only  Englishman  of  any  credit  in  Batavia.  We 
found  him  a  very  young  man,  under  twenty,  who  had  lately 
arrived  here,  and  succeeded  his  uncle,  a  Mr.  Burnet,  in 
his  business,  which  was  pretty  considerable,  more  so,  we 
were  told,  than  our  new-comer  had  either  money  or  credit  to 
manage.  He  soon  gave  us  to  understand  that  he  could  be 
of  very  little  service  to  us  either  in  introducing  us,  as  the 
Dutch  people,  he  said,  were  not  fond  of  him,  or  in  money 
affairs,  as  he  had  begun  trade  too  lately  to  have  any  more 
than  what  was  employed  in  getting  more.  He,  however, 
after  having  kept  us  to  dine  with  him,  offered  us  his  assist- 
ance in  showing  us  the  method  of  living  in  Batavia,  and  in 
helping  us  to  settle  in  such  a  manner  as  we  should  think 
fit.  We  had  two  alternatives.  We  could  go  to  the  hotel,  a 
kind  of  inn  kept  by  order  of  the  Government,  where  it  seems 
all  merchant  strangers  are  obliged  to  reside,  paying  J  per 
cent  for  warehouse  room  for  their  goods,  which  the  master  of 
the  house  is  obliged  to  find  for  them.  We,  however,  having 
come  in  a  king's  ship,  were  free  from  that  obligation,  and 


OCT.  1770  LAND  AT  BAT  AVI  A  367 

might  live  wherever  we  pleased.  After  having  asked  leave 
of  the  Council,  which  was  never  refused,  we  might  therefore, 
if  we  chose  it,  take  a  house  in  any  part  of  the  town,  and 
bringing  our  own  servants  ashore,  might  keep  it,  which 
would  be  much  cheaper  than  living  at  the  hotel,  provided 
we  had  anybody  on  whom  we  could  depend  to  buy  our 
provisions.  As  this  was  not  the  case,  having  none  with  us 
who  understood  the  Malay  language,  we  concluded  that  the 
hotel  would  be  the  best  for  us,  certainly  the  least  trouble- 
some, and  maybe  not  much  the  most  expensive ;  accordingly, 
we  went  there,  bespoke  beds,  and  slept  there  at  night. 

The  next  day  we  agreed  with  the  keeper  of  the  house, 
whose  name  was  Yan  Keys,  as  to  the  rates  we  should  pay 
for  living,  as  follows  (for  this  he  agreed,  as  we  were  five  of 
us,  who  would  probably  have  many  visitors  from  the  ship, 
to  keep  us  a  separate  table).  For  ourselves  we  were  to  pay 
two  rix-dollars  a  day  each ;  and  for  each  stranger  we  were 
to  pay  one  rix- dollar  (4s.)  for  dinner,  and  another  for 
supper  and  bed  if  he  stayed  ashore.  We  were  to  have  also 
for  ourselves  and  friends,  tea,  coffee,  punch,  pipes  and 
tobacco,  as  much  as  we  could  consume ;  in  short,  everything 
the  house  afforded,  except  wine  and  beer,  which  we  were  to 
pay  for  at  the  following  rates : — 

s.  d. 

Claret        ....  39  stivers  3     3 

Hock          ....  1  rixf.  4     0 

Lisbon       ....  39  stivers  3     3 

Sweet  wine         .         .         .  39      , ,  33 

Madeira     ....  1  rupee  2     6 

Beer  ....  1       „  26 

Spa  water  .         .         .         .  1  rixF.  40 

Besides  this  we  were  to  pay  for  our  servants  |-  a  rupee 
(Is.  3d.)  a  day  each. 

For  these  rates,  which  we  soon  found1  to  be  more  than 
double  the  common  charges  of  boarding  and  lodging  in  the 
town,  we  were  furnished  with  a  table  which  under  the 
appearance  of  magnificence  was  wretchedly  covered  ;  indeed, 

1  The  Journal  at  Batavia,  until  the  21st  at  least,  was  evidently  not  written 
up  day  by  day. 


368 


BATAVIA 


CHAP.  XVI 


our  dinners  and  suppers  consisted  of  one  course  each,  the 
one  of  fifteen,  the  other  of  thirteen  dishes,  of  which,  when 
you  came  to  examine  them,  seldom  less  than  nine  or  ten 
were  of  bad  poultry,  roasted,  boiled,  fried,  stewed,  etc.  etc. 
So  little  conscience  had  they  in  serving  up  dishes  over  and 
over  again,  that  I  have  seen  the  same  identical  duck  appear 
upon  the  table  three  times  as  roasted  duck,  before  he  found 
his  way  into  the  fricassee,  from  whence  he  was  again  to  pass 
into  forcemeat. 

This  treatment,  however,  was  not  without  remedy ;  we 
found  that  it  was  the  constant  custom  of  the  house  to  supply 
strangers  at  their  first  arrival  with  every  article  as  bad  as 
possible ;  if  through  good  nature  or  indolence  they  put  up 
with  it,  it  was  so  much  the  better  for  the  house,  if  not 
it  was  easy  to  mend  their  treatment  by  degrees,  till  they 
were  satisfied.  On  this  discovery  we  made  frequent  remon- 
strances, and  mended  our  fare  considerably,  so  much  so  that 
had  we  had  any  one  among  us  who  understood  this  kind  of 
wrangling,  I  am  convinced  we  might  have  lived  as  well  as 
we  could  have  desired. 

Being  now  a  little  settled,  I  hired  a  small  house  next 
door  to  the  hotel,  for  which  I  payed  10  rix.r.  (£2)  a  month. 
Here  our  books,  etc.,  were  lodged,  but  here  we  were  far  from 
private,  almost  every  Dutchman  that  came  by  running  in 
and  asking  what  we  had  to  sell ;  for  it  seems  that  hardly 
any  individual  had  ever  been  at  Batavia  before  who  had  not 
something  or  other  to  sell.  I  also  hired  two  carriages,  which 
are  a  kind  of  open  chaise  made  to  hold  two  people  and 
driven  by  a  man  on  a  coach-box.  For  each  of  these  I  paid 
2  rix.r.  (8s.)  a  day,  by  the  month.  We  sent  for  Tupia,  who 
had  till  now  remained  on  board  on  account  of  his  illness, 
which  was  of  the  bilious  kind,  and  for  which  he  had  all 
along  refused  to  take  any  medicine.  On  his  arrival,  his 
spirits,  which  had  long  been  very  low,  were  instantly  raised 
by  the  sights  which  he  saw,  and  his  boy  Tayeto,  who  had 
always  been  perfectly  well,  was  almost  ready  to  run  mad ; 
houses,  carriages,  streets,  and  everything,  were  to  him  sights 
which  he  had  often  heard  described  but  never  well  under- 


OCT.  1770     UNHEALTHINESS  OF  THE  CLIMATE  369 

stood,  so  he  looked  upon  them  with  more  than  wonder, 
almost  mad  with  the  numberless  novelties  which  diverted 
his  attention  from  one  to  the  other.  He  danced  about  the 
streets  examining  everything  to  the  best  of  his  abilities. 
One  of  Tupia's  first  observations  was  the  various  dresses 
which  he  saw  worn  by  different  people ;  on  his  being  told 
that  in  this  place  every  different  nation  wore  their  own 
country  dress,  he  desired  to  have  his,  on  which  South  Sea 
cloth  was  sent  for  on  board,  and  he  clothed  himself  accord- 
ing to  his  taste.  We  were  now  able  to  get  food  for  him 
similar  to  that  of  his  own  country,  and  he  grew  visibly 
better  every  day,  so  that  I  doubted  not  in  the  least  of  his 
perfect  recovery,  as  our  stay  at  this  place  was  not  likely  to 
be  very  short. 

Ever  since  our  arrival  at  this  place,  Dr.  Solander  and  I 
had  applied  to  be  introduced  to  the  General,  or  Governor, 
on  one  of  his  Public  or  Council  days ;  we  had  been  put  off 
by  various  foolish  excuses,  and  at  last  were  told  plainly  that 
as  we  could  have  no  business  with  him,  we  could  have  no 
reason  to  desire  that  favour.  This  did  not  satisfy  us,  so  I 
went  myself  to  the  Shdbandar,  who  is  also  master  of  the 
ceremonies,  in  order  to  ask  his  reasons  for  refusing  so  trifling 
a  request,  but  was  surprised  at  being  very  politely  received, 
and  told  that  the  very  next  day  he  would  attend  us,  which 
he  did,  and  we  were  introduced,  and  had  the  honour  of  con- 
versing for  a  few  minutes  with  his  high  mightiness,  who  was 
very  police  to  us. 

Ever  since  our  first  arrival  here  we  had  been  universally 
told  of  the  extreme  unwholesomeness  of  the  place,  which 
we,  they  said,  should  severely  feel  on  account  of  the  fresh- 
ness and  healthiness  of  our  countenances.  This  threat, 
however,  we  did  not  much  regard,  thinking  ourselves  too 
well  seasoned  to  variety  of  climates  to  fear  any,  and  trusting- 
more  than  all  to  an  invariable  temperance  in  everything, 
which  we  had  as  yet  unalterably  kept  during  our  whole 
residence  in  the  warm  latitudes.  Before  the  end  of  the 
month,  however,  we  were  made  sensible  of  our  mistake. 
Poor  Tupia's  broken  constitution  felt  it  first,  and  he  grew 

2  B 


370  BAT  AVI  A  CHAP,  xvi 

worse  and  worse  every  day.  Then  Tayeto,  his  boy,  was 
attacked  by  a  cold  and  inflammation  in  his  lungs ;  then  my 
servants,  Peter  and  James,  and  I  myself  had  intermittent 
fevers,  and  Dr.  Solander  a  constant  nervous  one.  In  short, 
every  one  on  shore,  and  many  on  board,  were  ill,  chiefly  of 
intermittents,  occasioned  no  doubt  by  the  lowness  of  the 
country,  and  the  numberless  dirty  canals,  which  intersect 
the  town  in  all  directions. 

Some  days  before  this,  as  I  was  walking  the  streets  with 
Tupia,  a  man  totally  unknown  to  me  ran  out  of  his  house, 
and  eagerly  accosting  me,  asked  if  the  Indian  whom  he  saw 
with  me  had  not  been  at  Batavia  before.  On  my  declaring 
that  he  had  not,  and  asking  the  reason  of  so  odd  a  question, 
he  told  me  that  a  year  and  a  half  before,  Mr.  De  Bougain- 
ville had  been  at  Batavia  with  two  French  ships,  and  that 
with  him  was  an  Indian  so  like  this  that  he  had  imagined 
him  to  be  the  identical  same  person,  until  I  informed 
him  of  the  contrary.  On  this  I  inquired,  and  found  that 
Mr.  De  Bougainville  was  sent  out  by  the  French  to  the 
Malouine  or  Falkland  Isles  (in  order,  as  they  said  here,  to 
sell  them  to  the  Spaniards),  had  gone  from  thence  to  the 
River  Plate,  and  afterwards  having  passed  into  the  South  Seas, 
— maybe  to  other  Spanish  parts,  where  he  and  all  his  people 
had  got  an  immense  deal  of  money  in  new  Spanish  dollars, — 
came  here  across  the  South  Seas,  in  which  passage  he  dis- 
covered divers  lands  unknown  before,  and  from  one  of  them 
he  brought  the  Indian  in  question. 

This  at  once  cleared  up  the  account  given  us  by  the 
Otahite  Indians  of  the  two  ships  which  had  been  there 
ten  months  before  us  (p.  9  6  of  this  journal) ;  these  were  un- 
doubtedly the  ships  of  Mr.  De  Bougainville,  and  the  Indian 
was  Otourrou,  the  brother  of  Eette,  chief  of  Hidea.  Even 
the  story  of  the  woman  was  known  here ;  she,  it  seems,  was 
a  Frenchwoman,  who  followed  a  young  man  sent  out  in  the 
character  of  botanist,  in  men's  clothes.1  As  for  the  article 
of  the  colours,  the  Indians  might  easily  be  mistaken,  or  Mr. 
De  Bougainville,  if  he  had  traded  in  the  South  Seas  under 

1  See  note  on  Bougainville,  p.  xliii. 


OCT.  1770      BOUGAINVILLE— ILLNESS  OF  PARTY  371 

Spanish  colours,  might  choose  to  go  quite  across  with  them. 
The  iron,  which  most  misled  us,  had  undoubtedly  been  bought 
in  Spanish  America.  Besides  the  botanist  mentioned  above, 
these  ships  were  furnished  with  one  or  more  draughtsmen,  so 
that  they  have  probably  done  some  of  our  work  for  us. 

21st.  After  petitioning  and  repetitioning  the  Council  of 
the  Indies,  our  affairs  were  at  last  settled,  and  orders  given 
to  heave  down  the  ship  with  all  expedition;  so  she  this 
day  went  down  to  Kuyper,  called  by  the  English  Cooper's 
Island,  where  a  warehouse  was  allotted  for  her  to  lay  up  her 
stores,  etc. 

We  now  began  sensibly  to  feel  the  ill  effects  of  the 
unwholesome  climate  we  were  in.  Our  appetites  and  spirits 
were  gone,  but  none  were  yet  really  sick  except  poor  Tupia 
and  Tayeto,  both  of  whom  grew  worse  and  worse  daily,  so 
that  I  began  once  more  to  despair  of  poor  Tupia's  life.  At 
last  he  desired  to  be  moved  to  the  ship,  where,  he  said,  he 
should  breathe  a  freer  air  clear  of  the  numerous  houses, 
which  he  believed  to  be  the  cause  of  his  disease,  by  stopping 
the  free  draught.  Accordingly  on  the  28th  I  went  down 
with  him  to  Kuyper,  and  on  his  liking  the  shore  had  a  tent 
pitched  for  him  in  a  place  he  chose,  where  both  sea  and 
land  breezes  blew  right  over  him,  a  situation  in  which  he 
expressed  great  satisfaction. 

The  seamen  now  fell  ill  fast,  so  that  the  tents  ashore 
were  always  full  of  sick.  After  a  stay  of  two  days  I  left 
Tupia  well  satisfied  in  mind,  but  not  at  all  better  in  body, 
and  returned  to  town,  where  I  was  immediately  seized  with 
a  tertian,  the  fits  of  which  were  so  violent  as  to  deprive  me 
entirely  of  my  senses,  and  leave  me  so  weak  as  scarcely  to 
be  able  to  crawl  downstairs.  My  servants,  Peter  and  James, 
were  as  bad  as  myself,  and  Dr  Solander  now  felt  the  first 
attacks  of  the  fever,  but  never  having  been  in  his  lifetime 
once  ill,  resisted  it,  resolved  not  to  apply  to  a  physician. 
But  the  worst  of  all  was  Mr.  Monkhouse,  the  ship's  surgeon  ; 
he  was  now  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  violent  fever,  which 
grew  worse  and  worse  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  the 
physician. 


372 


BATAVIA 


CHAP.  XVI 


4:th  November.  At  last,  after  many  delays  caused  by 
Dutch  ships  which  came  alongside  the  wharfs  to  load 
pepper,  the  Endeavour  was  this  day  got  down  to  Onrust, 
where  she  was  to  be  hove  down  without  delay,  most  welcome 
news  to  us  all,  now  heartily  tired  of  this  unwholesome 
country. 

Poor  Mr.  Monkhouse  became  worse  and  worse  without 
the  intervention  of  one  favourable  symptom,  so  that  we  now 
had  little  hopes  of  his  life. 

6th.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  poor  Mr.  Monkhouse 
departed,  the  first  sacrifice  to  the  climate,  and  the  next  day 
was  buried.  Dr.  Solander  attended  his  funeral,  and  I  should 
certainly  have  done  the  same,  had  I  not  been  confined  to  my 
bed  by  my  fever.  Our  case  now  became  melancholy,  neither 
of  my  servants  were  able  to  help  me,  no  more  than  I  was 
them,  and  the  Malay  slaves,  whom  alone  we  depended  on, 
naturally  the  worst  attendants  in  nature,  were  rendered  less 
careful  by  our  incapacity  to  scold  them  on  account  of  our 
ignorance  of  the  language.  When  we  became  so  sick  that 
we  could  not  help  ourselves,  they  would  get  out  of  call,  so 
that  we  were  obliged  to  remain  still  until  able  to  get  up 
and  go  in  search  of  them. 

9th.  This  day  we  received  the  disagreeable  news  of  the 
death  of  Tayeto,  and  that  his  death  had  so  much  affected 
Tupia,  that  there  were  little  hopes  of  his  surviving  him 
many  days. 

1  Oth.  Dr.  Solander  and  I  still  grew  worse  and  worse, 
and  the  physician  who  attended  us  declared  that  the  country 
air  was  necessary  for  our  recovery ;  so  we  began  to  look  out 
for  a  country  house,  though  with  a  heavy  heart,  as  we  knew 
that  we  must  there  commit  ourselves  entirely  to  the  care  of 
the  Malays,  whose  behaviour  to  sick  people  we  had  all  the 
reason  in  the  world  to  find  fault  with.  For  this  reason  we 
resolved  to  buy  each  of  us  a  Malay  woman  to  nurse  us, 
hoping  that  the  tenderness  of  the  sex  would  prevail  even 
here,  which  indeed  we  found  it  to  do,  for  they  turned  out 
by  no  means  bad  nurses. 

llth.  We  received  the  news  of  Tupia's  death;   I  had 


NOV.  1770    DEATH  OF  TUPIA— SOLANDER'S  ILLNESS     373 

quite  given  him  over  ever  since  the  death  of  his  boy,  whom 
I  well  knew  he  sincerely  loved,  though  he  used  to  find  much 
fault  with  him  during  his  lifetime. 

1 2th.  Dr.  Solander,  who  had  not  yet  entirely  taken  to 
his  bed,  returned  from  an  airing  this  evening  extremely  ill. 
He  went  to  bed  immediately.  I  sat  by  him,  and  soon 
observed  symptoms  which  alarmed  me  very  much.  I  sent 
immediately  for  our  physician,  Dr.  Jaggi,  who  applied 
sinapisms  to  his  feet,  and  blisters  to  the  calves  of  his  legs, 
but  at  the  same  time  gave  me  little  or  no  hopes  of  even  the 
possibility  of  his  living  till  morning.  Weak  as  I  was  I  sat 
by  him  till  morning,  when  he  changed  very  visibly  for  the 
better.  I  then  slept  a  little,  and  on  waking  found  him  still 
better  than  I  had  any  reason  to  hope. 

1 3th.  As  Dr.  Jaggi  had  all  along  insisted  on  the  country 
air  being  necessary  for  our  recovery,  I  at  once  agreed 
with  my  landlord,  Van  Keys,  for  his  country  house,  which 
he  immediately  furnished  for  us ;  agreeing  to  supply  us 
with  provisions,  and  give  us  the  use  of  five  slaves  who  were 
there,  as  well  as  three  we  were  to  take  with  us,  for  a  dollar 
a  day  (4s.),  more  than  our  common  agreement.  This  country 
house,  though  small  and  very  bad,  was  situated  about  two 
miles  out  of  the  town,  in  a  situation  that  prepossessed  me 
much  in  its  favour,  being  upon  the  banks  of  a  briskly  running 
river,  and  well  open  to  the  sea  breeze,  two  circumstances 
which  must  much  contribute  to  promote  circulation  of  the 
air,  a  thing  of  the  utmost  consequence  in  a  country 
perfectly  resembling  the  low  part  of  my  native  Lincolnshire. 
Accordingly,  Dr.  Solander  being  much  better,  and  in  the 
doctor's  opinion  not  too  bad  to  be  removed,  we  carried 
him  to  it  this  day,  and  also  received  from  the  ship  Mr. 
Sporing  (our  writer),  a  seaman,  and  the  captain's  own 
servant,  whom  he  had  sent  on  hearing  of  our  melancholy 
situation,  so  that  we  were  now  sufficiently  well  attended, 
having  ten  Malays  and  two  whites,  besides  Mr.  Sporing. 
This  night,  however,  Dr.  Solander  was  extremely  ill,  so  much 
so  that  fresh  blisters  were  applied  to  the  inside  of  his  thighs, 
which  he  seemed  not  at  all  sensible  of;  nevertheless  in  the 


374  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvi 

morning  he  was  something  better,  and  from  that  time  re- 
covered, though  by  extremely  slow  degrees,  till  his  second 
attack.  I  myself,  either  by  the  influence  of  the  bark  of 
which  I  had  all  along  taken  quantities,  or  by  the  anxiety  I 
suffered  on  Dr.  Solander's  account,  missed  my  fever,  nor 
did  it  return  for  several  days,  until  he  became  better. 

I4:th.  We  had  the  agreeable  news  of  the  repairs  of  the 
ship  being  completely  finished,  and  that  she  had  returned 
to  Cooper's  Island,  where  she  proved  to  be  no  longer  leaky. 
When  examined  she  had  proved  much  worse  than  anybody 
expected ;  her  main  plank  being  in  many  places  so  cut  by 
the  rocks  that  not  more  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness  remained ;  and  here  the  worm  had  got  in  and 
made  terrible  havoc.  Her  false  keel  was  entirely  gone,  and 
her  main  keel  much  wounded.  The  damages  were  now, 
however,  entirely  repaired,  and  very  well  too  in  the  opinion 
of  everybody  who  saw  the  Dutch  artificers  do  their  work. 

Dr.  Solander  grew  better,  though  by  very  slow  degrees. 
I  soon  had  a  return  of  my  ague,  which  now  became  quotidian  ; 
the  captain  also  was  taken  ill  on  board,  and  of  course  we 
sent  his  servant  to  him.  Soon  after  both  Mr.  Sporing  and 
our  seaman  were  seized  with  intermittents,  so  that  we  were 
again  reduced  to  the  melancholy  necessity  of  depending 
entirely  upon  the  Malays  for  nursing  us,  all  of  whom  were 
often  sick  together. 

24:th.  We  had  for  some  nights  now  had  the  wind  on  the 
western  board,  generally  attended  with  some  rain,  thunder 
and  lightning;  this  night  it  blew  strong  at  S.W.  and  rained 
harder  than  ever  I  saw  it  before  for  three  or  four  hours. 
Our  house  rained  in  every  part,  and  through  the  lower  part 
of  it  ran  a  stream  almost  capable  of  turning  a  mill.  In  the 
morning  I  went  to  Batavia,  where  the  quantities  of  bedding 
that  I  everywhere  saw  hung  up  to  dry,  made  a  very 
uncommon  sight,  for  I  was  told  almost  every  house  in 
the  town  and  neighbourhood  suffered  more  or  less.  This 
was  certainly  the  shifting  of  the  monsoon ;  for  the  winds, 
which  had  before  been  constantly  to  the  eastward,  remained 
constantly  on  the  western  board.  The  people  here,  however, 


DEC.  1770     ILLNESS  OF  BANKS  AND  SOLANDER  375 

told  us  that  it  did  not  commonly  shift  so  suddenly,  and 
were  loth  to  believe  that  the  westerly  winds  were  really  set 
in  for  several  days  after. 

Dr.  Solander  had  recovered  enough  to  be  able  to  walk 
about  the  house,  but  gathered  strength  very  slowly.  I 
myself  was  given  to  understand  that  curing  my  ague  was  of 
very  little  consequence  while  the  cause  remained  in  the 
badness  of  the  air.  The  physician,  however,  bled  me,  and 
gave  me  frequent  gentle  purges,  which  he  told  me  would 
make  the  attacks  less  violent,  as  was  really  the  case.  They 
came  generally  about  two  or  three  in  the  afternoon,  a  time 
when  everybody  in  these  climates  is  always  asleep,  and  by 
four  or  five  I  had  generally  recovered  sufficiently  to  get  up 
and  walk  in  the  garden.  The  rainy  season  had  now  set  in, 
and  we  had  generally  some  rain  in  the  night ;  the  days  were 
more  or  less  cloudy,  and  sometimes  wet ;  this,  however,  was 
not  always  the  case,  for  we  once  had  a  whole  week  of  very 
clear  weather. 

The  frogs  in  the  ditches,  whose  voices  were  ten  times 
louder  than  those  of  European  ones,  made  a  noise  almost  in- 
tolerable on  nights  when  rain  was  to  be  expected ;  and  the 
mosquitos  or  gnats,  who  had  been  sufficiently  troublesome 
even  in  the  dry  time,  were  now  breeding  in  every  splash  of 
water,  and  became  innumerable,  especially  in  the  moonlight 
nights.  Their  stings,  however,  though  painful  and  trouble- 
some enough  at  the  time,  never  continued  to  itch  above  half 
an  hour ;  so  that  no  man  in  the  daytime  was  troubled  with 
the  bites  of  the  night  before.  Indeed,  I  never  met  with  any 
whose  bites  caused  swellings  remaining  twenty-four  hours, 
except  the  midges  or  gnats  of  Lincolnshire  (which  are 
identically  the  same  insect  as  is  called  mosquito  in  most 
parts  of  the  world)  and  the  sand  flies  of  North  America.1 

1st  December.  About  this  time  Dr.  Solander  had  a  return 
of  his  fever,  which  increased  gradually  for  four  or  five  days, 
when  he  became  once  more  in  imminent  danger. 

*7th.  We  received  the  agreeable  news  of  the  ship's  arrival 
in  the  road,  having  completed  all  her  rigging,  etc.,  and  having 
1  Alluding  to  his  experience  in  Newfoundland  in  1766. 


376  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvi 

now  nothing  to  take  in  but  provisions  and  a  little  water. 
The  people  on  board,  however,  were  extremely  sickly,  and 
several  had  died,  a  circumstance  necessarily  productive  of 
delays  ;  indeed,  had  they  been  strong  and  healthy  we  should 
have  been  before  now  at  sea. 

Dr.  Solander  had  changed  much  for  the  better  within 
these  two  last  days,  so  that  our  fears  of  losing  him  were 
entirely  dissipated,  for  which  much  praise  is  due  to  his  in- 
genious physician,  Dr.  Jaggi,  who  at  this  juncture  especially 
was  indefatigable. 

16^.  Our  departure  being  now  very  soon  to  take  place, 
I  thought  it  would  be  very  convenient  to  cure  the  ague, 
which  had  now  been  my  constant  companion  for  many 
weeks.  Accordingly  I  took  decoction  of  bark  plentifully, 
and  in  three  or  four  days  missed  it.  I  then  went  to  town, 
settled  all  my  affairs,  and  remained  impatient  to  have  the 
day  fixed. 

24ith.  The  25th,  Christmas  Day  by  our  account,  being 
fixed  for  sailing,  we  this  morning  hired  a  large  country  proa, 
which  came  up  to  the  door  and  took  in  Dr.  Solander,  now 
tolerably  recovered,  and  carried  him  on  board  the  ship,  where 
in  the  evening  we  all  joined  him. 


CHAPTEE    XVII 

DESCRIPTION    OF   BATAVIA 

Situation — Number  of  houses — Streets — Canals — Houses — Public  buildings- 
Fortifications —  Castle — Forts  within  the  city  —  Soldiers  —  Harbour — 
Islands  and  uses  to  which  they  are  put — Dutch  fleet — Country  round 
Batavia — Thunderstorms — Marshes — 'Unheal  thin  ess  of  the  climate — 
Fruitfulness  of  the  soil — Cattle,  sheep,  etc. — "Wild  animals — Fish — Birds 
—  Rice  —  Mountain  rice  — Vegetables — Fruits  :  detailed  description, 
supply  and  consumption — Palm -wine — Odoriferous  flowers — Spices — 
Population  and  nationalities — Trade — Cheating — Portuguese — Slaves — 
Punishment  of  slaves — Javans — Habits  and  customs — Native  attention  to 
the  hair  and  teeth — Running  amoc — Native  superstitions — Crocodiles  as 
twin  brothers  to  men  —  Chinese:  their  habits,  mode  of  living  and 
burial — Government — Officials — Justice — Taxation — Money. 

BATAVIA,  the  capital  of  the  Dutch  dominions  in  India,  and 
generally  esteemed  to  be  by  much  the  finest  town  in  the 
possession  of  Europeans  in  these  parts,  is  situated  in  a  low 
fenny  plain,  where  several  small  rivers,  which  take  their 
rise  in  mountains  called  Blaen  Berg,  about  forty  miles  inland, 
empty  themselves  into  the  sea.  The  Dutch  (always  true  to 
their  commercial  interests)  seemed  to  have  pitched  upon  this 
situation  entirely  for  the  convenience  of  water-carriage,  which 
indeed  few.  if  any,  towns  in  Europe  enjoy  in  a  higher  degree. 
Few  streets  in  the  town  are  without  canals  of  considerable 
breadth,  running  through  or  rather  stagnating  in  them. 
These  canals  are  continued  for  several  miles  round  the  town, 
and  with  five  or  six  rivers,  some  of  which  are  navigable 
thirty  or  forty  or  more  miles  inland,  make  the  carriage  of 
every  species  of  produce  inconceivably  cheap. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  judge  of  the  size  of  the  town :  the 
size  of  the  houses,  in  general  large,  and  the  breadth  of  the 


378  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

streets  increased  by  their  canals,  make  it  impossible  to  com- 
pare it  with  any  English  town.  All  I  can  say  is  that  when 
seen  from  the  top  of  a  building,  from  whence  the  eye  takes  it 
in  at  one  view,  it  does  not  look  nearly  so  large  as  it  seems 
to  be  when  you  walk  about  it.  Valentijn,  who  wrote  about 
and  before  the  year  1726,  says  that  in  his  time  there  were 
within  the  walls  1242  Dutch  houses,  and  1200  Chinese; 
without,  1066  Dutch  and  1240  Chinese,  besides  twelve 
arrack  houses.  This  number,  however,  appeared  to  me  to  be 
very  highly  exaggerated,  those  within  the  walls  especially. 
But  of  all  this  I  confess  myself  a  very  indifferent  judge,  hav- 
ing enjoyed  so  little  health,  especially  towards  the  latter  part 
of  my  stay,  that  I  had  no  proper  opportunity  of  satisfying 
myself  in  such  particulars. 

The  streets  are  broad  and  handsome,  and  the  banks  of 
the  canals  in  general  planted  with  rows  of  trees.  A  stranger 
on  his  first  arrival  is  very  much  struck  with  these,  and  often 
led  to  observe  how  much  the  heat  of  the  climate  must  be 
tempered  by  the  shade  of  the  trees  and  coolness  of  the  water. 
Indeed,  as  to  the  first,  it  must  be  convenient  to  those  who 
walk  on  foot;  but  a  very  short  residence  will  show  him 
that  the  inconveniences  of  the  canals  far  over-balance  any 
convenience  he  can  derive  from  them  in  any  but  a  mercan- 
tile light.  Instead  of  cooling  the  air,  they  contribute  not  a 
little  to  heat  it,  especially  those  which  are  stagnant,  as  most 
of  them  are,  by  reflecting  back  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun.  In 
the  dry  season  these  stink  most  abominably,  and  in  the  wet 
many  of  them  overflow  their  banks,  filling  the  lower  storeys 
of  the  houses  near  them  with  water.  When  they  clean  them, 
which  is  very  often,  as  some  are  not  more  than  three  or  four 
feet  deep,  the  black  mud  taken  out  is  suffered  to  lie  upon  the 
banks,  that  is,  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  till  it  has  acquired 
a  sufficient  hardness  to  be  conveniently  laden  into  boats. 
This  mud  stinks  intolerably.  Add  to  this  that  the  running 
water,  which  is  in  some  measure  free  from  the  former  incon- 
veniences, has  every  now  and  then  a  dead  horse  or  hog 
stranded  in  the  shallow  parts,  a  nuisance  which  I  was  in- 
formed no  particular  person  was  appointed  to  remove.  I 


1770  CANALS  AND  HOUSES  379 

am  inclined  to  believe  this,  as  I  remember  a  dead  buffalo 
lying  in  one  of  the  principal  thoroughfares  for  more  than  a 
week,  until  it  was  at  last  carried  away  by  a  flood. 

The  houses  are  in  general  large  and  well  built,  and  con- 
veniently enough  contrived  for  the  climate.  The  greater  part 
of  the  ground-floor  is  always  laid  out  in  one  large  room  with 
a  door  to  the  street  and  another  to  the  yard,  both  which 
generally  stand  open.  Below  is  the  ground -plan  of  one. 


In  this  plan  a  is  the  front  door,  6,  the  back  door,  c,  a  room 
where  the  master  of  the  house  does  his  business,  d,  a  court 
to  give  light  to  the  rooms  as  well  as  increase  the  draught, 
and  e,  the  stairs  for  going  upstairs,  where  the  rooms  are 
generally  large  though  few  in  number.  Such,  in  general, 
are  their  town  houses,  differing  in  size  very  much,  and  some- 
times in  shape ;  the  principles,  however,  on  which  they  are 
built  are  universally  the  same,  two  doors  opposite  each  other, 
and  one  or  more  courts  between  them  to  cause  a  draught, 
which  they  do  in  an  eminent  degree,  as  well  as  dividing  the 
room  into  alcoves,  in  one  of  which  the  family  dine,  while 
the  female  slaves  (who  on  no  occasion  sit  anywhere  else) 
work  in  another.  Showy,  however,  as  these  large  rooms  are 
to  the  stranger  on  his  first  seeing  them,  he  is  soon  sensible 
of  the  small  amount  of  furniture  which  is  universal  in  all 
of  them.  The  same  quantity  of  furniture  is  sufficient  for 
them  as  is  necessary  for  our  smaller  rooms  in  Europe,  as  in 
those  we  entertain  fully  as  many  guests  at  a  time  as  is  ever 
done  in  these ;  consequently  the  chairs,  which  are  spread  at 
even  distances  from  each  other,  are  not  very  easily  collected 
into  a  circle  if  four  or  five  visitors  arrive  at  once. 

Public  buildings  they  have  several,  most  of  them  old  and 
executed  in  rather  a  clumsy  taste.     Their  new  church,  how- 


380  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

ever,  built  with  a  dome  (which  is  seen  very  far  out  at  sea), 
is  certainly  far  from  an  ugly  building  on  the  outside,  though 
rather  heavy,  and  in  the  inside  is  a  very  fine  room.  Its 
organ  is  well  proportioned,  being  large  enough  to  fill  it, 
and  it  is  so  well  supplied  with  chandeliers  that  few  churches 
in  Europe  are  as  well  lighted. 

From  buildings  I  should  make  an  easy  transition  to  forti- 
fications, were  it  not  a  subject  of  which  I  must  confess 
myself  truly  ignorant.  I  shall  attempt,  however,  to  describe 
what  I  have  seen  in  general  terms.  The  city  of  Batavia  is 
enclosed  by  a  stone  wall  of  moderate  height,  old,  and  in 
many  parts  not  in  the  best  repair;  besides  this,  a  river  in 
different  places  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  paces  broad,  whose 
stream  is  rather  brisk  but  shallow,  encircles  it  without  the 
walls,  and  within  again  is  a  canal  of  very  variable  breadth, 
so  that  in  passing  their  gates  you  cross  two  draw-bridges. 
This  canal,  useless  as  it  seems,  has,  however,  this  merit,  that 
it  prevents  all  walking  on  the  ramparts,  as  is  usual  in  fortified 
towns,  and  consequently  all  idle  examination  of  the  number 
or  condition  of  the  guns.  With  these  they  seem  to  be  very 
ill  provided,  all  that  are  seen  being  of  very  light  metal ;  and 
the  west  side  of  the  town,  where  alone  you  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  examining  them,  being  almost  totally  unprovided. 

In  the  north-east  corner  of  the  town  stands  the  castle  or 
citadel,  the  walls  of  which  are  higher  and  larger  than  those 
of  the  town,  especially  near  the  boats'  landing-place,  which 
it  completely  commands,  and  where  are  mounted  several  very 
large  and  well-looking  guns.  The  neighbourhood,  however, 
of  the  north-east  corner  seems  sufficiently  weak  on  both 
sides,  especially  on  the  east. 

Within  this  Castle,  as  it  is  called,  are  apartments  for  the 
Governor-General  and  all  the  members  of  the  Council  of  India, 
to  which  they  are  enjoined  to  repair  in  case  of  a  siege ;  here 
are  also  large  storehouses,  where  are  kept  great  quantities  of 
the  Company's  goods,  especially  European  goods,  and  where 
all  their  writers,  etc.,  do  their  business.  Here  are  also  stored 
a  large  quantity  of  cannon,  but  whether  to  mount  on  the 
walls  or  furnish  their  shipping  in  case  of  the  approach  of  an 


1770  FORTIFICATIONS  381 

enemy,  I  could  not  learn;  from  their  appearance  I  should 
judge  them  to  be  intended  for  the  latter.  As  for  powder, 
they  are  said  to  be  well  supplied  with  it,  dispersed  in  various 
magazines  on  account  of  the  frequency  of  lightning. 

Besides  the  fortifications  of  the  town,  there  are  numerous 
forts  up  and  down  the  country,  some  between  twenty  and 
thirty  miles  from  the  town.  Most  of  these  seem  very  poor 
defences,  and  are  probably  intended  to  do  little  more  than 
keep  the  natives  in  awe.  They  have  also  a  kind  of  house 
mounting  about  eight  guns  apiece,  which  seem  to  me  to  be  the 
best  defences  against  Indians  I  have  ever  seen.  They  are 
generally  placed  in  such  situations  as  will  cominand  three 
or  four  canals,  and  as  many  roads  upon  their  banks.  Some 
there  are  in  the  town  itself,  and  one  of  these  it  was  which, 
in  the  time  of  the  Chinese  rebellion  (as  the  Dutch  call  it), 
quickly  levelled  all  the  best  Chinese  houses  to  the  ground. 
Indeed,  I  was  told  that  the  natives  are  more  afraid  of  these 
than  of  any  other  kind  of  defences.  There  are  many  of 
them  in  all  parts  of  Java,  and  on  the  other  islands  in  the 
possession  of  the  Dutch.  I  lamented  much  not  being  able 
to  get  a  drawing  and  plan  of  one,  which,  indeed,  had  I  been 
well,  I  might  easily  have  done,  as  I  suppose  they  never 
could  be  jealous  of  a  defence  which  one  gun  would  destroy 
in  half  an  hour. 

Even  if  the  Dutch  fortifications  are  as  weak  and  defence- 
less as  I  suppose,  they  have,  nevertheless,  some  advantages 
in  their  situation  among  morasses,  where  the  roads,  which 
are  almost  always  a  bank  thrown  up  between  a  canal  and  a 
ditch,  might  easily  be  destroyed.  This  would  very  much 
delay  the  bringing  up  of  heavy  artillery,  unless  this  could 
be  shipped  upon  some  canal,  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
proper  boats  secured  to  transport  it.  There  are  plenty  of 
these,  but  they  all  muster  every  night  under  the  guns 
of  the  Castle,  from  whence  it  would  be  impossible  to  take 
them.  Delays,  however,  from  whatever  cause  they  might 
happen,  would  be  inevitably  fatal.  In  less  than  a  week 
we  were  sensible  of  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate,  and 
in  a  month's  time  one  half  of  the  ship's  company  were 


382  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

unable  to  perform  their  duty ;  but  could  a  very  small  body 
of  men  get  quickly  to  the  walls  of  Batavia,  bringing  with  them 
a  few  battering  cannon,  the  town  must  inevitably  yield  on 
account  of  the  weakness  of  its  defence. 

We  were  told  that  of  a  hundred  soldiers,  who  arrive  here 
from  Europe,  it  is  a  rare  thing  for  fifty  to  outlive  the  first 
year  ;  and  that  of  those  fifty  half  will  by  that  time  be  in  the 
hospitals,  and  of  the  other  half  not  ten  in  perfect  health. 
Whether  this  account  may  not  be  exaggerated  I  cannot  say, 
but  will  venture  to  affirm  that  it  seemed  to  me  probable 
from  the  number  of  pale  faces,  and  limbs  hardly  able  to 
support  a  musket,  which  I  saw  among  the  few  soldiers  to 
be  seen  upon  duty.  The  white  inhabitants  indeed  are  all 
soldiers,  and  those  who  have  served  five  years  are  liable  to 
be  called  out  on  any  occasion ;  but  as  they  are  never 
exercised  or  made  to  do  any  kind  of  duty,  it  is  impossible 
to  expect  much  from  men  more  versed  in  handling  pens 
than  guns.  The  Portuguese  are  generally  good  marksmen, 
as  they  employ  themselves  much  in  shooting  wild  hogs  and 
deer ;  as  for  the  Mardykers,  who  are  certainly  numerous — 
being  Indians  of  all  nations  who  are,  or  whose  ancestors 
have  been,  freed  slaves — few,  either  of  them  or  of  the 
Chinese,  know  the  use  of  firearms.  Their  numbers,  however, 
might  be  troublesome,  as  some  of  them  are  esteemed  brave 
with  their  own  weapons,  lances,  swords,  daggers,  etc. 

Thus  much  for  the  land.  By  sea  it  is  impossible  to 
attack  Batavia,  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of  the  water, 
which  will  scarcely  suffer  even  a  long-boat  to  come  within 
cannon-shot  of  the  walls,  unless  she  keep  a  narrow  channel 
walled  in  on  both  sides  by  strong  piers,  and  running  about 
half  a  mile  into  the  harbour,  which  channel  terminates 
exactly  under  the  fire  of  the  strongest  part  of  the  Castle. 
At  this  point  there  is  a  large  wooden  boom,  which  is  shut 
every  night  at  six  o'clock,  and  not  opened  again  till  morn- 
ing under  any  pretence.  It  is  said  that  before  the  earth- 
quake in  [1699]  ships  of  large  burthen  used  to  come  up  to 
this  place,  and  be  stopped  by  the  boom,  but  at  present  only 
boats  attempt  it. 


1770  HARBOUR  AND  ISLANDS  383 

The  harbour  of  Batavia  is  generally  accounted  the  finest 
in  India ;  and  indeed  it  answers  that  character,  being  large 
enough  to  contain  any  number  of  ships,  and  having  such 
good  holding  ground  that  no  ships  ever  think  of  mooring, 
but  ride  with  one  anchor,  which  always  holds  as  long  as  the 
cable.  How  it  is  sheltered  is  difficult  to  say,  the  islands 
without  it  not  being  by  any  means  sufficient,  but  so  it  is 
that  there  is  never  any  sea  running  at  all  troublesome  to 
shipping.  Its  greatest  inconvenience  is  the  shoal  water 
between  the  ships  and  the  mouth  of  Batavia  river,  which, 
when  the  sea  breeze  has  blown  pretty  freshly,  as  it  often 
does,  makes  a  cockling  sea  very  dangerous  to  boats.  Our 
long-boat,  in  attempting  to  come  off,  struck  two  or  three 
times  and  with  difficulty  regained  the  river's  mouth;  the 
same  evening  a  Dutch  boat  loaded  with  sails  and  rigging  for 
one  of  their  Indiamen  was  entirely  lost. 

Eound  the  outside  of  the  harbour  are  many  small  islands, 
some  of  which  the  Dutch  make  use  of;  as  Edam,  to  which 
they  transport  all  Europeans  who  have  been  guilty  of 
crimes  not  worthy  of  death.  Some  of  these  are  sentenced 
to  remain  there  99,  others  40,  20,  5  years,  etc.,  according 
to  their  deserts,  during  which  time  they  work  as  slaves, 
making  ropes,  etc.  etc.  At  Purmerent  they  have  a  hospital 
in  which  people  are  said  to  recover  much  more  quickly 
than  at  Batavia.  On  Kuyper  are  warehouses  in  which  are 
kept  many  things  belonging  to  the  Company,  chiefly  such 
as  are  of  small  value,  as  rice,  etc. ;  here  also  all  foreign  ships 
who  are  to  be  hove  down  at  Onrust  discharge  their  cargoes 
at  wharves  very  convenient  for  the  purpose.  Here  the 
guns,  sails,  etc.,  of  the  "  Falmouth,"  a  gun-ship  which  was 
condemned  here  on  her  return  from  Manilla,  were  kept,  and 
she  herself  remained  in  the  harbour  with  only  two  warrant 
officers  on  board,  who  had  remittances  most  regularly  from 
home,  but  no  notice  ever  taken  of  the  many  memorials 
they  sent,  desiring  to  be  recalled.  The  Dutch,  however,  for 
reasons  best  known  to  themselves,  thought  fit  about  six 
months  before  our  arrival  to  sell  her  and  all  her  stores  by 
public  auction,  and  send  her  officers  home  in  their  ships. 


384  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

The  next  island,  which  is  indeed  of  more  consequence 
to  the  Dutch  than  all  the  rest,  is  Onrust ;  here  they  heave 
down  and  repair  all  their  shipping,  and  consequently  keep  a 
large  quantity  of  naval  stores.  On  this  island  are  artificers 
of  almost  all  kinds  employed  in  the  shipbuilding  way,  and 
very  clever  ones,  so  at  least  all  our  most  experienced  seamen 
allowed,  who  said  they  had  seen  ships  hove  down  in  most 
parts  of  the  world,  but  never  saw  that  business  so  cleverly 
done  as  here.  The  Dutch  do  not  seem  to  think  this  island 
of  so  much  consequence  as  they  perhaps  would  do  if  all 
their  naval  stores  were  here  (the  greater  part  are  at  Batavia)  ; 
it  seems  to  be  so  ill  defended,  that  one  60 -gun  ship  would 
blow  it  up  without  a  possibility  of  failure,  as  she  might  go 
alongside  the  wharfs  as  near  as  she  pleased. 

It  is  generally  said  in  Europe  that  the  Dutch  keep  a  strong 
fleet  in  the  East  Indies,  ready  and  able  to  cope  with  any  Euro- 
pean Power  which  might  attack  them  there.  This  is  true  thus 
far  and  no  farther  :  their  Indiamen,  which  are  very  large  ships, 
are  pierced  for  5  0  or  6  0  guns  each.  Should  they  be  attacked 
when  all  these  were  in  India,  or  indeed  a  little  before  the 
sailing  of  the  Europe  fleet,  they  might,  if  they  had  sufficient 
warning  to  get  in  their  guns,  etc.,  raise  40  or  50  sail;  but 
how  it  would  be  possible  for  them  to  man  this  fleet,  if  they 
kept  anybody  at  all  on  shore,  is  to  me  a  mystery.  Again, 
should  they  be  attacked  after  the  fleet  had  sailed,  they  have 
very  few  ships,  and  those  terribly  out  of  condition ;  for  they 
keep  no  ships  even  in  tolerable  repair  in  India,  except  those 
employed  to  go  to  Ceylon  and  the  coast,  which  places  indeed 
are  generally  taken  in  the  way  to  or  from  Europe.  As  for 
the  eastern  islands,  no  ships  of  any  force  are  employed 
there ;  but  all  the  trade  is  carried  on  in  small  vessels,  many 
of  which  are  brigs  and  sloops. 

The  country  round  about  Batavia  for  some  miles  is  one 
continued  range  of  country  houses  and  gardens,  some  of 
which  are  very  large,  and  all  universally  planted  with  trees 
as  close  as  they  can  stand  by  each  other,  so  that  the  country 
enjoys  little  benefit  from  being  cleared,  the  woods  standing 
now  nearly  as  thick  as  when  they  grew  there  originally, 


1770  COUNTRY  ROUND  BATAVIA  385 

with  only  this  difference,  that  they  are  now  of  useful,  whereas 
they  were  formerly  of  useless  trees.  But,  useful  as  these  trees 
are  to  their  respective  owners,  who  enjoy  their  fruits,  to  the 
community  they  are  certainly  highly  detrimental  in  prevent- 
ing the  sea  breeze  from  penetrating  into  the  country  as  it 
ought ;  or  at  best  loading  it  with  unwholesome  vapours  col- 
lected and  stagnating  under  their  branches.  This,  according 
to  our  modern  theory,  should  be  the  reason  why  thunder 
and  lightning  are  so  frequent  and  mischievous  here  that 
scarcely  a  month  passes  in  which  either  ships  or  houses  do 
not  feel  the  effects  of  it.  While  we  stayed  three  accidents 
happened ;  the  first,  a  few  days  after  our  arrival,  dismasted 
a  large  Dutch  Indiaman  which  lay  next  to  us,  and  wounded 
two  or  three  of  her  people :  nor  were  we  exempt  from  the 
consequences  of  that  flash,  which,  according  to  the  belief  of 
those  on  board,  came  down  the  lightning  chain,  and  certainly 
struck  down  the  sentry  who  stood  near  it. 

Besides  these  frugiferous  forests,  the  country  has  all  the 
appearance  of  unhealthiness  imaginable.  I  may  venture  to 
call  it  for  some  miles  round  the  town  one  universal  flat,  as 
I  know  few  exceptions  to  it.  This  flat  is  intersected  in 
many  directions  by  rivers,  in  still  more  by  canals  navigable 
for  small  vessels ;  but  worst  of  all  are  the  ditches,  which, 
as  in  the  marshes  of  Lincolnshire,  are  the  universal  fences 
of  fields  and  gardens,  hedges  being  almost  totally  absent. 
Nor  are  filthy,  fenny  bogs  and  morasses,  fresh  as  well  as 
salt,  wanting  even  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of  the  town 
to  add  their  baneful  influence  to  the  rest,  and  complete  the 
unhealthiness  of  the  country,  which,  much  as  I  have  said 
of  it,  I  believe  I  have  not  exaggerated.  The  people  them- 
selves speak  of  it  in  as  strong  terms  as  I  do,  while  the  pale 
faces  and  diseased  bodies  of  those  who  are  said  to  be  inured 
to  it,  as  well  as  the  preventive  medicines,  etc.,  and  the 
frequent  attacks  of  disease  they  are  subject  to,  abundantly 
testify  to  the  truth  of  what  they  assert.  The  very  church- 
yards show  it  by  the  number  of  graves  constantly  open  in 
them,  far  disproportionate  to  the  number  of  people.  The 
inhabitants  themselves  talk  of  death  with  the  same  in- 

2  c 


386  DESCRIPTION   OF   BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

difference  as  people  in  a  camp ;  it  is  hardly  a  piece  of  news 
to  tell  any  one  of  the  death  of  another,  unless  the  dead 
man  is  of  high  rank,  or  somehow  concerned  in  money 
matters  with  the  other.  If  the  death  of  any  acquaintance 
is  mentioned,  it  commonly  produces  some  such  reflexion  as, 
"  Well,  it  is  very  well  he  owed  me  nothing,  or  I  should 
have  had  to  get  it  from  his  executors." 

So  much  for  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia  and  as  far 
round  it  as  I  had  an  opportunity  of  going.  I  saw  only  two 
exceptions  to  this  general  description,  one  where  the  General's 
country  house  is  situated.  This  is  a  gradually  rising  hill  of 
tolerable  extent,  but  so  little  raised  above  the  common  level 
that  you  would  be  hardly  sensible  of  being  upon  it  were  it 
not  that  you  have  left  the  canals,  and  that  the  ditches  are 
replaced  by  bad  hedges.  The  Governor  himself  has,  how- 
ever, strained  a  point  so  as  to  enclose  his  own  garden  with 
a  ditch,  to  be  in  the  fashion  I  suppose.  The  other  exception 
is  the  place  where  a  famous  market  called  Passar  Tandbank 
is  held.  Here,  and  here  only  during  my  whole  stay,  I  had 
the  satisfaction  of  mounting  a  hill  of  about  ten  yards 
perpendicular  height,  and  tolerably  steep.  About  forty  miles 
inland,  however,  are  some  pretty  high  hills,  where,  as  we 
were  informed,  the  country  is  healthy  in  a  high  degree,  and 
even  at  certain  heights  tolerably  cool.  There  European 
vegetables  flourish  in  great  perfection,  even  strawberries, 
which  bear  heat  very  ill.  The  people  who  live  there  also 
have  colour  in  their  cheeks,  a  thing  almost  unknown  at 
Batavia,  where  the  milk-white  faces  of  all  the  inhabitants 
are  unstained  by  any  colour ;  especially  the  women,  who 
never  go  into  the  sun,  and  are  consequently  free  from  the 
tan,  and  have  certainly  the  whitest  skins  imaginable.  From 
what  cause  it  proceeds  is  difficult  to  say,  but  in  general  it 
is  observed  that  they  keep  their  health  much  better  than 
the  men,  even  if  they  have  lately  arrived  from  Europe. 

On  these  hills  some  of  the  principal  people  have  country 
houses,  which  they  visit  once  a  year ;  the  General  especially 
has  one,  said  to  be  built  upon  the  plan  of  Blenheim  House, 
near  Oxford,  but  never  finished.  Physicians  also  often  send 


I77Q  CLIMATE— CROPS— CATTLE  387 

people  here  for  the  recovery  of  their  health  lost  in  the  low 
country,  and  say  that  the  effects  of  such  a  change  of  air  is 
almost  miraculous,  working  an  instant  change  in  favour  of 
the  patient,  who  during  his  stay  there  remains  well,  but  no 
sooner  returns  to  his  necessary  occupations  at  Batavia  than 
his  complaints  return  in  just  the  same  degree  as  before  his 
departure. 

Few  parts  of  the  world,  I  believe,  are  better  furnished 
with  the  necessaries  as  well  as  the  luxuries  of  life,  than  the 
island  of  Java.  The  unhealthiness  of  the  country  about 
Batavia  is  in  that  particular  rather  an  advantage  to  it ;  for 
the  very  cause  of  it,  a  low  flat  situation,  is  likewise  the 
cause  of  a  fruitfulness  of  soil  hardly  to  be  paralleled,  which 
is  sufficiently  testified  by  the  flourishing  condition  of  the 
immense  quantities  of  fruit-trees  all  round  the  town,  as  well 
as  by  the  quantity  and  excellence  of  their  crops  of  sugar- 
cane, rice,  Indian  corn,  etc.  etc.  ID  "  <ed,  the  whole  island  is 
allowed  to  be  uncommonly  fruitful  by  those  who  have  seen 
it,  and  in  general  as  healthy  as  fruitful,  excepting  only  such 
low  fenny  spots  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia,  far  fitter 
to  sow  rice  upon  than  to  build  towns. 

The  tame  quadrupeds  are  horses,  cattle,  buffaloes,  sheep, 
goats,  and  hogs.  The  horses  are  small,  never  exceeding  in 
size  what  we  call  a  stout  Galloway,  but  nimble  and  spirited : 
they  are  said  to  have  been  found  here  when  the  Europeans 
first  came  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  cattle  are 
said  to  be  the  same  as  those  in  Europe,  but  differ  from  them 
in  appearance  so  much  that  I  am  inclined  to  doubt.  They 
have,  however,  the  palearia,  which  naturalists  make  to  be 
the  distinguishing  mark  of  our  species.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  are  found  wild,  not  only  on  Java,  but  on  several  of 
the  eastern  islands.  The  flesh  of  those  that  I  ate  at 
Batavia  was  rather  finer -grained  than  European  beef,  but 
much  drier,  and  always  terribly  lean.  Buffaloes  are  very 
plentiful,  but  the  Dutch  are  so  much  prejudiced  against 
them,  that  they  will  not  eat  their  flesh  at  all,  nor  even  drink 
their  milk,  affirming  that  it  causes  fevers.  The  natives, 
however,  and  the  Chinese  do  both,  and  have  no  such  opinion 


388  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

concerning  them.  Their  sheep,  of  that  sort  whose  ears  hang 
down  and  have  hair  instead  of  wool,  are  most  intolerably  bad, 
lean,  and  tough  to  the  last  degree.  They  have,  however,  a 
few  Cape  sheep,  which  are  excellent,  though  intolerably  dear. 
"We  gave  £2  :  5s.  a  piece  for  four,  which  we  bought  for  sea 
stock,  the  heaviest  of  which  weighed  only  45  Ibs.  Their 
goats  are  much  of  a  par  with  their  sheep,  but  their  hogs 
are  certainly  excellent,  especially  the  Chinese,  which  are  so 
immensely  fat  that  nobody  thinks  of  buying  the  fat  with 
the  lean.  The  butcher,  when  you  buy  it,  cuts  off  as  much 
as  you  please,  and  sells  it  to  his  countrymen,  the  Chinese, 
who  melt  it  down  and  eat  it  instead  of  butter  with  their 
rice.  Notwithstanding  the  excellence  of  this  pork,  the 
Dutch  are  so  prejudiced  in  favour  of  everything  which 
comes  from  the  Fatherland,  that  they  will  not  eat  it  at  all, 
but  use  entirely  the  Dutch  breed,  which  are  sold  as  much 
dearer  than  the  Chinese  here,  as  the  Chinese  are  dearer  than 
them  in  Europe. 

Besides  these  domestic  animals,  their  woods  afford  some 
wild  horses  and  cattle,  but  only  in  the  distant  mountains, 
and  even  there  they  are  very  scarce.  Buffaloes  are  not 
found  wild  upon  Java,  though  they  are  upon  Macassar, 
and  are  numerous  in  several  of  the  eastern  islands.  The 
neighbourhood  of  Batavia,  however,  is  pretty  plentifully 
supplied  with  deer  of  two  kinds,  and  wild  hogs,  both  which 
are  very  good  meat,  and  often  shot  by  the  Portuguese,  who 
sell  them  tolerably  cheap.  Monkeys  also  there  are,  though 
but  few  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia. 

On  the  mountains  and  in  the  more  desert  part  of  the 
island  are  tigers,  it  is  said,  in  too  great  abundance,  and  some 
rhinoceroses ;  but  neither  of  these  animals  are  ever  heard  of 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia,  or  indeed  any  in  well-peopled 
part  of  the  island. 

Fish  are  in  immense  plenty ;  many  sorts  of  them  very 
excellent  and  inconceivably  cheap ;  but  the  Dutch,  true  to 
the  dictates  of  luxury,  buy  none  but  those  which  are  scarce. 
We,  who  in  the  course  of  our  long  migration  in  the  warm 
latitudes  had  learned  the  real  excellence  of  many  of  the 


1770  FISH— FOWLS— VEGETABLES  389 

cheapest  sorts,  wondered  much  at  seeing  them  the  food  of 
none  but  slaves.  On  inquiry,  however,  of  a  sensible  house- 
keeper, he  told  us  that  he,  as  well  as  we,  knew  that  for  one 
shilling  he  could  purchase  a  better  dish  of  fish  than  he  did 
for  ten.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  dare  not  do  it,  for  should  it  be 
known  that  I  did  so,  I  should  be  looked  upon  in  the  same 
light  as  one  in  Europe  who  covered  his  table  with  offal  fit 
for  nothing  but  beggars  or  dogs."  Turtle  is  here  also 
in  abundance,  but  despised  by  Europeans ;  indeed,  for  what 
reason  I  know  not,  it  is  neither  so  sweet  nor  so  fat  as  our 
West  Indian  turtle,  even  in  England.  They  have  also  a 
kind  of  large  lizard  or  iguana,  some  of  which  are  said  to  be 
as  thick  as  a  man's  thigh.  I  shot  one  about  five  feet  long, 
and  it  proved  very  good  meat. 

Poultry  is  prodigiously  plentiful;  very  large  fowls, 
ducks,  and  geese  are  cheap;  pigeons  are  rather  dear  and 
turkeys  extravagant.  In  general,  those  we  ate  at  Batavia 
were  lean  and  dry,  but  this  I  am  convinced  proceeds  from 
their  being  ill-fed,  as  I  have  eaten  every  kind  there  as  good 
or  better  than  commonly  met  with  in  Europe. 

Wild  fowl  are  in  general  scarce.  I  saw  during  my  stay 
one  wild  duck  in  the  fields,  but  never  one  to  be  sold. 
Snipe,  however,  of  two  kinds,  one  exactly  the  same  as  in 
Europe,  and  a  kind  of  thrush,  are  plentifully  sold  every  day 
by  the  Portuguese,  who,  for  I  know  not  what  reason,  seem 
to  monopolise  the  wild  game. 

Nor  is  the  earth  less  fruitful  of  vegetables  than  she  is  of 
animals.  Eice,  which  everybody  knows  is  to  the  inhabitants 
of  these  countries  the  common  corn,  serving  instead  of 
bread,  is  very  plentiful :  one  kind  of  it  is  planted  here,  and 
in  many  of  the  eastern  islands,  which  in  the  western  parts 
of  India  is  totally  unknown.  It  is  called  by  the  natives 
paddy  gunang,  that  is,  mountain  rice;  this,  unlike  the 
other  sort,  which  must  be  under  water  three  parts  of  the 
time  of  its  growth,  is  planted  upon  the  sides  of  hills,  where 
no  water  but  rain  can  possibly  come.  They  take,  however, 
the  advantage  of  planting  it  in  the  beginning  of  the  rainy 
season,  by  which  means  they  reap  it  in  the  beginning  of  the 


390  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

dry.  How  far  this  kind  of  rice  might  be  useful  in  our  West 
Indian  islands,  where  they  grow  no  bread  corn  at  all,  I  leave 
to  the  judgment  of  those  who  know  their  respective  interests, 
as  also  the  question  whether  the  cassava,  or  manioc,  their 
substitute  for  bread,  is  not  as  wholesome  and  cheaper  than 
anything  else  which  could  be  introduced  among  them. 

Besides  rice  they  grow  also  Indian  corn  or  maize,  which 
they  gather  when  young  and  toast  in  the  ear.  They  have 
also  a  vast  variety  of  kidney  beans  and  lentils,  called 
cadjang,  which  make  a  great  part  of  the  food  of  the  common 
people.  They  have  millet,  yams,  both  wet  and  dry,  sweet 
potatoes  and  some  European  potatoes,  not  to  be  despised, 
but  dear.  Their  gardens  produce  cabbage,  lettuce,  cucumbers, 
radishes,  China  white  radishes,  which  boil  almost  as  well  as 
turnips,  carrots,  parsley,  celery,  pigeon-pease  (Cytissus  cajan), 
kidney  beans  of  two  sorts  (DolicJws  chinensis  and  lignosus),  egg 
plants  (Solatium  melongena),  which  eat  delicately  when  boiled 
with  pepper  and  salt,  a  kind  of  greens  much  like  spinach  (Con- 
vulvulus  reptans),  very  small  but  good  onions,  and  asparagus, 
scarce  and  very  bad.  They  had  also  some  strong-smelling 
European  plants,  as  sage,  hyssop  and  rue,  which  they  thought 
smelt  much  stronger  here  than  in  their  native  soils,  though 
I  cannot  say  I  was  sensible  of  it.  But  the  produce  of  the 
earth  from  which  they  derive  the  greatest  advantage  is 
sugar ;  of  it  they  grow  immense  quantities,  and  with  little 
care  have  vast  crops  of  the  finest,  largest  canes  imaginable, 
which  I  am  inclined  to  believe  contain  in  an  equal  quantity 
a  far  larger  proportion  of  sugar  than  our  West  Indian  ones. 
White  sugar  is  sold  here  for  about  2|-d.  a  pound.  The 
molasses  makes  their  arrack,  of  which,  as  of  rum,  it  is  the 
chief  ingredient;  a  small  quantity  of  rice  only,  and  some 
cocoanut  wine,  being  added,  which  I  suppose  gives  it  its 
peculiar  flavour.  Indigo  they  also  grow  a  little,  but  I 
believe  no  more  than  is  necessary  for  their  own  use. 

The  fruits  of  the  East  Indies  are  in  general  so  much 
cried  up  by  those  who  have  eaten  of  them,  and  so  much 
preferred  to  our  European  ones,  that  I  shall  give  a  full  list 
of  all  the  sorts  which  were  in  season  during  our  stay,  and 


1770  FRUITS  391 

my  judgment  of  each,  which  I  confess  is  not  so  much  in 
their  favour,  as  is  that  of  the  generality  of  Europeans  after 
their  return  home ;  though  while  here  I  did  not  find  that 
they  were  more  fond  of  them,  or  spoke  more  in  their  praise, 
when  compared  with  European  fruits,  than  I  did. 

(1)  The  pine-apples  (Bromelia  ananas),  called  here  nanas, 
are   very  large,  and   so    plentiful   that   in   cheap   times   I 
have   been   told  that   a  man   who    buys   them    first  hand 
may    get    them    for   a   farthing    apiece.      When   we   were 
there  we  could  without  much  haggling  get   two  or  three 
for  twopence   halfpenny  at   the   common   fruit  shops.      In 
quality  they  are  certainly  good  and  well  flavoured,  as  good, 
but  not  a  bit    better,  than    those  which  are  called    good 
in  England.      So  luxuriant  are  they  in  their  growth  that 
most    of   them    have    two    or  three   crowns,  and    a    large 
number  of  suckers  from  the  bottom  of  the  fruit :    I  have 
counted  nine.     These  are  so  forward,  that  they  often,  while 
still  adhering  to  the  mother,  shoot  out  their  fruit,  which  by 
the  time  the  large  one  is  ripe,  are  of  a  tolerable  size.     Of 
these  I  have  seen  three  upon  one  apple,  and  have  been  told 
that  nine  have  been  seen ;  but  this  was  esteemed  so  great  a 
curiosity,  that  it  was  preserved  in  sugar  and  sent  to  the 
Prince  of  Orange. 

(2)  Oranges  (Citrus  aurant.  sinensis)  are  tolerably  good, 
but  while  we  were  here  were  very  dear,  seldom  less  than 
sixpence  apiece.    (3)  Pumplemouses  (Citrus  decumanus),  called 
in  the  West  Indies  shaddocks,  were  well  flavoured,  but  had 
no  juice  in  them,  which  we  were  told  depended  upon  the 
season.     (4)  Lemons  (Citrus  medico)  were  very  scarce,  but 
the  want  of  them  was  amply  made  up  by  the  plenty  of 
(5)  limes,  of  which  the  best  were  to  be  bought  for  about 
twelvepence  a  hundred.    Of  Seville  oranges  I  saw  two  or  three 
only,  and  they  were  almost  all  peel.     There  are  many  other 
sorts   of  oranges   and    lemons ;    none   of   which  are  at  all 
esteemed  by  the  Europeans,  or  indeed  by  the  natives  them- 
selves.    (6)  Mango  (Mangifera  indica) :  this  fruit  during  our 
stay  was  so  infested  with  maggots,  which  bred  inside  them, 
that  scarcely  four  out  of  ten  would  be  free ;  nor  were  those 


392  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

which  were  by  any  means  so  good  as  those  of  Brazil. 
Europeans  commonly  compare  this  fruit  to  a  melting  peach, 
to  which  in  softness  and  sweetness  it  certainly  approaches, 
but  in  flavour  as  certainly  falls  much  short  of  any  that  can 
be  called  good.  The  climate,  as  I  have  been  told,  is  here  too 
hot  and  damp  for  them ;  and  on  the  coast  of  India  they  are 
much  better.  Here  are  almost  as  many  sorts  of  them  as  of 
apples  in  England ;  some  much  inferior  to  others ;  some  of 
the  worst  sorts  are  so  bad  that  the  natives  themselves  can 
hardly  eat  them  when  ripe,  but  use  them  as  an  acid  when 
just  full  grown.  One  sort,  called  by  them  mangha  cowani,  has 
so  strong  a  smell  that  a  European  can  scarce  bear  one  in  the 
room ;  these,  however,  the  natives  are  fond  of.  The  best 
kinds  for  eating  are  first  mangha,  doodool,  incomparably 
better  than  any  other,  then  mangha  santock  and  mangha 
gure ;  and  besides  these  three  I  know  no  other  which  a 
European  would  be  at  all  pleased  with. 

(7)  Of  bananas  (Musa)  here  are   likewise  innumerable 
kinds  :  three  only  of  which  are  good  to  eat  as  fruit,  viz.  pisang 
mas,  pisang  radja,  and  pisang  ambou  ;  all  of  which  have  a  toler- 
ably vinous  taste ;  the  rest,  however,  are  useful  in  their  way. 
Some  are  fried  with  butter,  others  boiled  in  place  of  bread 
(which  is  here  a  dearer  article  than  meat),  etc.     One  of  the 
sorts,  however,  deserves  to  be  taken  notice  of  by  botanists, 
as  it  is,  contrary  to  the  nature  of  the  rest  of  its  tribe,  full 
of  seeds,  from  whence  it  is  called  pisang  latu  or  pisang  lidjis. 
It  has,  however,  no  excellence  to  recommend  it  to  the  taste 
or  any  other  way,  unless  it  be,  as  the  Malays  think,  good 
for  the  flux. 

(8)  Gh-apes  (Vitis  vinifera)  are  here  to  be  had,  but  in  no 
great  perfection  :  they  are,  however,  sufficiently  dear,  a  bunch 
about  the  size  of  a  fist  costing  about  a  shilling  or  eighteen- 
pence.     (9)  Tamarinds  (Tamarindus  indica)  are  prodigiously 
common  and  as  cheap ;  the  people,  however,  either  do  not 
know  how  to  put  them  up,  as  the  West  Indians  do,  or  do 
not  practise  it,  but  cure  them  with  salt,  by  which  means  they 
become  a  black  mass  so  disagreeable  to  the  sight  and  taste 
that   few  Europeans  choose   to   meddle  with  them.     (10) 


1770  FRUITS  393 

Water  melons  (Cucurbita  citrullus)  are  plentiful  and  good,  as 
are  also  (11)  pumpkins  (Cucurbita  pepo),  which  are  certainly 
almost  or  quite  the  most  useful  fruit  which  can  be  carried 
to  sea,  keeping  without  any  care  for  several  months,  and 
making,  with  sugar  and  lemon-juice,  a  pie  hardly  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  apple-pie,  or  with  pepper  and  salt,  a  substi- 
tute for  turnips  not  to  be  despised.  (12)  Papaws  (Oarica 
papaia) :  this  fruit  when  ripe  is  full  of  seeds,  and  almost  with- 
out flavour ;  but  while  green,  if  pared,  the  core  taken  out,  and 
boiled,  is  also  as  good  or  better  than  turnips.  (13)  Guava 
(Psidium  pomiferwm)  is  a  fruit  praised  much  by  the  inhabit- 
ants of  our  West  Indies,  who,  I  suppose,  have  a  better  sort 
than  we  met  with  here,  where  the  smell  of  them  alone  was 
so  abominably  strong,  that  Dr.  Solander,  whose  stomach  is 
very  delicate,  could  not  bear  them  even  in  the  room,  nor  did 
their  taste  make  amends,  partaking  much  of  the  goatish 
rankness  of  their  smell.  Baked  in  pies,  however,  they  lost 
much  of  this  rankness,  and  we,  less  nice,  ate  them  very  well. 
(14)  Sweet  sop  (Annona  squamosa),  also  a  West  Indian  fruit, 
is  nothing  but  a  vast  quantity  of  large  kernels,  from  which 
a  small  proportion  of  very  sweet  pulp,  almost  totally  devoid 
of  flavour,  may  be  sucked.  (15)  Custard  apple  (Annona 
reticulata)  is  likewise  common  to  our  West  Indies,  where  it 
has  got  its  name,  which  well  enough  expresses  its  qualities ; 
for  certainly  it  is  as  like  a  custard,  and  a  good  one  too,  as 
can  be  imagined.  (16)  Casshew  apple  (Anacardium  occi- 
dentale)  is  seldom  or  never  eaten  on  account  of  its  astrin- 
gency ;  the  nut  which  grows  on  the  top  of  it  is  well  known 
in  Europe,  where  it  is  brought  from  the  West  Indies.  (17) 
Cocoanut  (Cocos  nucifera)  is  well  known  everywhere  between 
the  tropics ;  of  it  are  infinite  different  sorts :  the  best  we 
met  with  for  drinking  is  called  calappa  edjou,  and  easily 
known  by  the  redness  of  the  flesh  between  the  skin  and  the 
shell. 

(18)  Mangostan  (Grarcinia  mangostana).  As  this,  and  some 
more,  are  fruits  peculiar  to  the  East  Indies,  I  shall  give  short 
descriptions  of  them.  This  is  about  the  size  of  a  crab  apple, 
and  of  a  deep  red  wine  colour :  at  the  top  of  it  is  a  mark 


394  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

made  by  five  or  six  small  triangles  joined  in  a  circle,  and  at 
the  bottom  several  hollow  green  leaves,  the  remains  of  the 
flower.  When  they  are  to  be  eaten,  the  skin,  or  rather  flesh, 
which  is  thick,  must  be  taken  off,  under  which  are  found 
six  or  seven  white  kernels  placed  in  a  circle.  The  pulp 
with  which  these  are  enveloped  is  what  is  eaten,  and  few 
things  I  believe  are  more  delicious,  so  agreeably  is  acid 
mixed  with  sweet  in  this  fruit,  that  without  any  other  flavour, 
it  competes  with,  if  not  excels,  the  finest  flavoured  fruits. 
So  wholesome  also  are  these  mangostans,  that  they,  as  well 
as  sweet  oranges,  are  allowed  without  stint  to  people  in 
the  highest  fevers.  (19)  Jambu  (Eugenia  malaccensis)  is 
esteemed  also  a  most  wholesome  fruit ;  it  is  deep  red,  of  an 
oval  shape,  the  largest  as  big  as  a  small  apple ;  it  has  not 
much  flavour,  but  is  certainly  very  pleasant  on  account  of 
its  coolness.  There  are  several  sorts  of  it,  but,  without  much 
reference  to  kinds,  the  largest  and  reddest  are  always  the 
best.  (20)  Jambu  ayer  (Eugenia).  Of  these  are  two  sorts, 
alike  in  shape  resembling  a  bell,  but  differing  in  colour,  one 
being  red  and  the  other  white ;  in  size  they  a  little  exceed  a 
large  cherry ;  in  taste  they  are  totally  devoid  of  flavour,  or 
even  sweetness,  being  nothing  more  than  a  little  acidulated 
water,  and  yet  their  coolness  recommends  them  very  much. 
(21)  Jambu  ayer  mauwar  (Eugenia  jambos)  is  more  pleasant 
to  the  smell  than  the  taste ;  in  the  latter  resembling  some- 
thing the  conserve  of  roses,  as  in  the  former,  the  fresh  scent 
of  those  flowers.  (22)  Pomegranate  (Punica  granatum)  is 
the  same  fruit  as  in  England,  and  everywhere  else  that  I 
have  met  with  it,  in  my  opinion  but  ill  repaying  any  one 
who  takes  the  trouble  of  breaking  its  tough  hide.  (23) 
Durian  in  shape  resembles  much  a  small  melon,  but  has  a 
skin  covered  over  with  sharp  conical  spines,  whence  its  name, 
dure  signifying  in  the  Malay  language  a  spine.  This  fruit 
when  ripe  divides  itself  longitudinally  into  seven  or  eight 
compartments,  each  of  which  contains  six  or  seven  nuts,  not 
quite  so  large  as  chestnuts,  coated  over  with  a  substance 
both  in  colour  and  consistence  very  much  resembling  thick 
cream.  This  is  the  delicate  part  of  the  fruit,  which  the 


1770  FRUITS  395 

natives  are  vastly  fond  of ;  but  few  Europeans,  at  first,  how- 
ever, can  endure  its  taste,  which  resembles  sugared  cream 
mixed  with  onions.  The  smell  also  prejudices  them  much 
against  it,  being  most  like  that  of  rotten  onions.  (24) 
Nanca  (Sitodium  cauliflorum),  called  in  some  parts  of  India 
jack,1  has  like  the  durian  a  smell  very  disagreeable  to 
strangers,  resembling  very  mellow  apples  with  a  little 
garlic.  The  taste,  however,  in  my  opinion  makes  amends 
for  the  smell,  though  I  must  say  that  amongst  us  English 
I  was,  I  believe,  single  in  that  opinion.  Authors  tell 
strange  stories  about  the  immense  size  to  which  this 
fruit  grows  in  some  countries  which  are  favourable  to  it. 
Rumphius  says  that  they  are  sometimes  so  large  that  a  man 
cannot  easily  lift  one  of  them :  the  Malays  told  me  that  at 
Madura  they  were  so  large  that  two  men  could  but  carry 
one  of  them;  at  Batavia,  however,  they  never  exceed  the 
size  of  a  large  melon,  which  in  shape  they  resemble,  but  are 
coated  over  with  angular  spines  like  the  shootings  of  some 
crystals  :  they  are,  however,  soft,  and  do  not  at  all  prick  any 
one  who  handles  them.  (25)  Tsjampada  (Sitodium)  differs 
from  nanca  in  little  else  than  size.  (26)  Ramlutan*  is  a 
fruit  seldom  mentioned  by  Europeans ;  it  is  in  appearance 
much  like  a  chestnut  with  the  husk  on,  being  like  it  covered 
with  soft  prickles,  but  smaller  and  of  a  deep  red  colour: 
when  eaten,  this  skin  must  be  cut,  and  under  it  is  a  fruit, 
the  flesh  of  which  indeed  bears  but  a  small  proportion  to  the 
stone,  but  makes  rich  amends  for  the  smallness  of  its  quan- 
tity by  the  elegance  of  its  acid,  superior  to  any  other  (maybe) 
in  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom.  (27)  Jambolan  (Myrtus) 
is  in  size  and  appearance  not  unlike  an  English  damson,  but 
has  always  rather  too  astringent  a  flavour  to  allow  it  to  be 
compared  even  with  that  fruit.  (28)  Boa  lidarra  (Rhamnus 
jujuba)  is  a  round  yellow  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  musket 
bullet;  its  flavour  is  compared  to  an  apple,  but  like  the 
former  has  too  much  astringency  to  be  compared  with  any 
thing  but  a  crab.  (29)  Nam  nam  (Cynometra  cauliflora)  is 
shaped  something  like  a  kidney,  very  rough  and  rugged  on 

1  Artocarpus  integrifolia,  Linn.  f.  2  Nephelium  lappaceum,  Linn. 


396  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

the  outside  and  about  three  inches  long :  it  is  seldom  eaten 
raw,  but  when  fried  with  butter  makes  very  good  fritters.  (30) 
Catappa  (Terminalia  catappa)  and  (31)  canari  (Canarium 
commune)  are  both  nuts,  the  kernels  of  which  are  compared 
to  almonds,  and  indeed  are  fully  as  sweet,  but  the  difficulty 
of  getting  at  their  kernels  out  of  their  tough  rinds  and  hard 
shells  is  so  great  that  they  are  nowhere  publicly  sold,  nor 
did  I  taste  any  others  than  those  which  for  curiosity's  sake 
I  gathered  from  the  tree  and  had  opened  under  it.  (32) 
Madja  (Limonia),  under  a  hardish  brittle  shell,  contains  a 
slightly  acid  pulp,  which  is  only  eaten  mixed  with  sugar, 
nor  is  it  then  to  be  called  pleasant.  (33)  Suribul  (Trichilia) 
is  by  far  the  worst  fruit  of  any  I  .have  to  mention :  it 
is  in  size  and  shape  much  like  the  madja,  as  large  as  a 
middling  apple,  but  rounder ;  it  has  a  thick  hide,  containing 
within  it  kernels  like  the  mangostan ;  its  taste  is  both  acid 
and  astringent,  without  one  merit  to  recommend  it,  indeed  I 
should  not  have  thought  it  eatable,  had  I  not  seen  it  often 
publicly  exposed  for  sale  upon  the  fruit  stalls.  (34)  Blim- 
bing  (Averrhoa  bilimbi),  (35)  blimbing-bessi  (Averrhoa  caram- 
lola),  and  (36)  cherrema  (Averrhoa  acida)  are  all  three 
species  of  one  genus,  which,  though  they  differ  much  in 
shape,  agree  in  being  equally  acid,  too  much  so  to  be  used 
without  dressing,  except  only  blimbing-bessi,  which  is  sweeter 
than  the  other  two ;  they  make,  however,  excellent  sour 
sauce,  and  as  good  pickles.  (37)  SalacJc1  (Calamus  rotang- 
zalacca)  is  the  fruit  of  a  most  prickly  bush ;  it  is  as  big  as  a 
walnut,  and  covered  over  with  scales  like  a  lizard  or  snake ; 
these  scales,  however,  easily  strip  off,  and  leave  two  or  three 
soft  and  yellow  kernels,  in  flavour  resembling  a  little,  I 
thought,  strawberries  :  in  this,  however,  I  was  peculiar,  for  no 
one  but  myself  liked  them.  In  short,  I  believe  I  may  say  that 
bad  as  the  character  is  that  I  have  given  of  these  fruits,  I 
ate  as  many  of  them  as  any  one,  and  at  the  time  thought  I 
spoke  as  well  of  them  as  the  best  friends  they  had.  My 
opinions  were  then  as  they  are  now ;  whether  my  shipmates 
may  change  theirs  between  here  and  home  I  cannot  tell. 

1  A  species  of  rattan  cane. 


1770  FRUIT  MARKETS  397 

Besides  these  they  have  several  fruits  eaten  only  by  the 
natives,  as  Kellor  Guilandina,  Moringa,  Soccum  of  two  or 
three  kinds,  the  same  as  is  called  bread-fruit  in  the  South  Seas. 
All  the  kinds  here,  however,  are  so  incomparably  inferior  to 
the  South  Sea  ones,  that  were  it  not  for  the  great  similitude 
of  the  outward  appearance  of  both  tree  and  plant,  they  would 
scarcely  deserve  that  name.  There  are  also  lilinju  (G-netum 
gnemon),  loa  lune,  etc.  etc.,  all  which  I  shall  pass  over  in 
silence  as  not  deserving  to  be  mentioned  to  any  but  hungry 
people. 

They  no  doubt  have  many  more  which  were  not  in  season 
during  our  stay :  we  were  told  also  that  several  kinds  of 
European  fruits,  as  apples,  strawberries,  etc.,  had  been  planted 
up  in  the  mountains,  where  they  came  to  great  perfection ; 
but  this  I  can  only  advance  upon  the  credit  of  report. 
Several  other  fruits  they  have  also,  which  they  preserve  in 
sugar,  as  kumquit,  boa,  atap,  etc.,  but  these  require  to  be 
prepared  in  that  way  before  they  are  at  all  eatable. 

Batavia  consumes  an  almost  incredible  quantity  of  fruits, 
generally  over-ripe,  or  otherwise  bad,  before  they  are  sold : 
nor  can  a  stranger  easily  get  any  that  are  good,  unless  he  goes 
to  a  street  called  Passar  Pisang,  which  lies  north  from  the  great 
church,  and  very  near  it.  Here  there  live  none  but  Chinese  who 
sell  fruit :  they  are  in  general  supplied  from  gentlemen's  gardens 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town,  and  consequently  have  the 
best  always  fresh.  For  this  excellence  of  their  goods,  however, 
they  are  well  paid,  for  they  will  not  take  less  for  any  kind 
than  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  the  market  price ;  nor 
did  we  ever  grudge  to  give  it,  as  their  fruit  was  always  ten 
times  better  than  any  in  the  market.  The  chief  supplies  of 
Batavia  come  from  a  pretty  considerable  distance,  where 
great  quantities  of  land  are  cultivated  merely  for  the  sake  of 
the  fruits.  The  country  people,  to  whom  these  lands  belong, 
meet  the  town's  people  at  two  great  markets ;  one  on 
Mondays,  called  Passar  Sineen,  and  the  other  on  Saturdays, 
called  Passar  Tanabank,  held  at  very  different  places ;  each 
however,  about  five  miles  from  Batavia.  Here  the  best  of 
fruits  may  be  got  at  the  cheapest  rates.  The  sight  of  these 


398  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

markets  is  to  a  European  very  entertaining.  The  immense 
quantities  of  fruit  exposed  is  almost  beyond  belief :  forty  or 
fifty  cart-loads  'of  pine-apples,  packed  as  carelessly  as  we  do 
turnips  in  England,  is  nothing  extraordinary  ;  and  everything 
else  is  in  the  same  profusion.  The  time  of  holding  these 
markets,  however,  is  so  ill-contrived,  that,  as  all  the  fruit  for 
the  ensuing  week,  both  for  retailers  and  housekeepers,  must 
be  bought  on  Saturday  and  Monday,  there  is  afterwards  no 
good  fruit  in  the  hands  of  any  but  the  Chinese  in  Passar 
Pisang. 

Thus  much  for  meat :  in  the  article  of  drink,  nature  has 
not  been  quite  so  bounteous  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  island 
as  she  has  to  some  of  us,  sons  of  the  less  abundant  North. 
They  are  not,  however,  to-day  devoid  of  strong  liquors,  though 
their  religion,  Mahometanism,  forbids  them  the  use  of  such ; 
by  this  means  driving  them  from  liquid  to  solid  intoxicants, 
as  opium,  tobacco,  etc.  etc. 

Besides  their  arrack,  which  is  too  well  known  in  Europe 
to  need  any  description,  they  have  palm  wine,  made  from  a 
species  of  palm.  This  liquor  is  extracted  from  the  branches 
which  should  have  borne  flowers,  but  are  cut  by  people  who 
make  it  their  business.  Joints  of  bamboo  cane  are  hung 
under  them,  into  which  liquor  intended  by  nature  for  the 
nourishment  of  both  flowers  and  fruit,  distils  in  tolerable 
abundance ;  and  so  true  is  nature  to  her  paths,  that  so  long 
as  the  fruit  of  that  branch  would  have  remained  unripe,  so 
long,  but  no  longer,  does  she  supply  the  liquor  or  sap.  This 
liquor  is  sold  in  three  states,  the  first  almost  as  it  comes 
from  the  tree,  only  slightly  prepared  by  some  method 
unknown  to  me,  which  causes  it  to  keep  thirty -six  or 
forty-eight  hours  instead  of  only  twelve :  in  this  state  it  is 
sweet  and  pleasant,  tasting  a  little  of  smoke,  which,  though 
at  first  disagreeable,  becomes  agreeable  by  use  and  not  at  all 
intoxicating.  It  is  called  tuackmanise,  or  sweet  palm- wine. 
The  other  two,  one  of  which  is  called  tuack  oras,  and  the 
other  tuack  cuning,  are  prepared  by  placing  certain  roots  in 
them,  and  then  fermenting ;  so  that  their  taste  is  altered  from 
a  sweet  to  a  rather  astringent  and  disagreeable  taste,  and 


1770  FLOWERS  399 

they  have  acquired  the  property  of  intoxicating  in  a  pretty 
high  degree.  Besides  this  they  have  tuack  from  the  cocoa- 
nut  tree,  but  very  little  of  this  is  drunk  as  a  liquor ;  it  being 
mostly  used  to  put  into  the  arrack,  of  which,  when  intended 
to  be  good,  it  is  a  necessary  ingredient. 

Next  to  eating  and  drinking,  the  inhabitants  of  this  part 
of  India  seem  to  place  their  chief  delight  in  a  more  delicious 
as  well  as  less  blameable  luxury,  namely,  in  sweet  smells  of 
burning  rosins,  etc.,  and  sweet-scented  woods,  but  more  than 
all  in  sweet  flowers,  of  which  they  have  several  sorts,  very 
different  from  ours  in  Europe.  Of  these  I  shall  give  a  short 
account,  confining  myself  to  such  as  were  in  season  during 
our  stay  here. 

All  these  were  sold  about  the  streets  every  night  at 
sunset,  either  strung  in  wreaths  of  about  two  feet  (a  Dutch 
ell)  long,  or  made  up  into  different  sorts  of  nosegays,  either 
of  which  cost  about  a  halfpenny  apiece.  (1)  Champacka 
(Michelia  champacJca)  grows  upon  a  tree  about  as  large  as  an 
apple  tree,  and  like  it  spreading.  The  flower  itself  consists 
of  fifteen  longish  narrow  petals,  which  give  it  the  appearance 
of  being  double,  though  in  reality  it  is  not.  Its  colour  is 
yellow,  much  deeper  than  that  of  a  jonquil,  which  flower, 
however,  it  somewhat  resembles  in  scent,  only  is  not  so 
violently  strong.  (2)  Cananga  (Uvaria  cananga)  is  a  green 
flower,  not  at  all  resembling  any  European  flower,  either  in 
its  appearance,  which  is  more  like  a  bunch  of  leaves  than  a 
flower,  or  smell,  which,  however,  is  very  agreeable.  (3) 
Mulatti  (Nyctanthes  sambac)  is  well  known  in  English  hot- 
houses under  the  name  of  Indian  jasmine ;  it  is  here  in 
prodigious  abundance,  and  certainly  as  fragrant  as  any  flower 
they  have ;  but  of  this  as  well  as  all  the  Indian  flowers  it 
may  be  said  that,  though  fully  as  sweet  as  any  European, 
even  of  the  same  kinds,  they  have  not  that  overpowering 
strength ;  in  short,  their  smell,  though  very  much  the  same, 
is  much  more  delicate  and  elegant  than  any  we  can  boast 
of.  (4)  Combang  caracnassi  and  (5)  Combang  tonguin 
(Pergularia  glabra)  are  much  alike  in  shape  and  smell :  small 
flowers  of  the  dog's-bane  kind,  hardly  to  be  compared  to  any 


400  DESCRIPTION   OF   BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

in  our  English  gardens,  but  like  all  the  rest  most  elegant  in 
their  fragrance.  (6)  Sv/ndal  malam  (Polianthes  tuberosa), 
our  English  tuberose ;  this  flower  is  considerably  smaller, 
as  well  as  more  mildly  fragrant  than  ours  in  Europe.  The 
Malay  name  signifies  "intriguer  of  the  night,"  from  a 
rather  pretty  idea.  The  heat  of  the  climate  here  allows  few 
or  no  flowers  to  smell  in  the  day ;  and  this  especially  from 
its  want  of  smell  and  modest  white  array,  seems  not  at  all 
desirous  of  admirers ;  but  when  night  comes  its  fragrance  is 
diffused  around  and  attracts  the  attention  as  well  as  gains 
the  admiration  of  every  passer-by.  (7)  Bonga  tanjong 
(Mimusops  elengi)  is  shaped  exactly  like  a  star  of  seven  or 
eight  rays,  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter ;  it  is  of  a  yellowish 
colour,  and  like  its  fellows  has  a  modest  agreeable  smell ;  but 
it  is  chiefly  used  to  make  a  contrast  with  the  mulatti  in 
the  wreaths  which  the  ladies  here  wear  in  their  hair,  and 
this  it  does  very  prettily. 

Besides  these  there  are  in  private  gardens  many  other 
sweet  flowers,  which  are  not  in  sufficient  plenty  to  be 
brought  to  market,  as  Cape  jasmine,  several  sorts  of  Arabian 
jasmine,  though  none  so  sweet  as  the  common,  etc.  etc. 
They  also  make  a  mixture  of  several  of  these  flowers  and 
leaves  of  a  plant  called  pandang  (Pandanus\  chopped 
small,  with  which  they  fill  their  hair  and  clothes,  etc. 
But  their  great  luxury  is  in  strewing  their  beds  full  of  this 
mixture  and  flowers  ;  so  that  you  sleep  in  the  midst  of 
perfumes,  a  luxury  scarcely  to  be  expressed  or  even  con- 
ceived in  Europe. 

Before  I  leave  the  productions  of  this  country  I  cannot 
help  saying  a  word  or  two  about  spices,  though  in  reality 
none  but  pepper  is  a  native  of  the  island  of  Java,  and  but 
little  even  of  that.  Of  pepper,  however,  I  may  say  that, 
large  as  the  quantities  of  it  are  that  are  annually  imported 
into  Europe,  little  or  none  is  used  in  this  part  of  the  Indies. 
Capsicum  or  cayenne  pepper,  as  it  is  called  in  Europe,  has 
almost  totally  supplied  its  place.  As  for  cloves  and  nutmegs, 
the  monopoly  of  the  Dutch  has  made  them  too  dear  to  be 
plentifully  used  by  the  Malays,  who  are  otherwise  very  fond 


1770  SPICES— POPULATION  401 

of  them.  Cloves,  though  said  to  be  originally  the  produce  of 
Machian  or  JBachian,1  a  small  island  far  to  the  eastward,  and 
fifteen  miles  north  of  the  line,  from  whence  they  were  when 
the  Dutch  came  here  disseminated  over  most  or  all  of  the 
eastern  isles,  are  now  entirely  confined  to  Amboyna  and  the 
neighbouring  small  islets ;  the  Dutch  having  by  different 
treaties  of  peace  with  the  conquered  kings  of  all  the  other 
islands,  stipulated  that  they  should  have  only  a  certain 
number  of  trees  in  their  dominions ;  and  in  future  quarrels, 
as  a  punishment,  lessened  their  quantity,  till  at  last  they 
left  them  no  right  to  have  any.  Nutmegs  have  been  in  the 
same  manner  extirpated  in  all  the  islands,  except  their  native 
Banda,  which  easily  supplies  this  world,  and  would  as  easily 
supply  another,  if  the  Dutch  had  but  another  to  supply.  Of 
nutmegs,  however,  there  certainly  are  a  few  upon  the  eastern 
coast  of  New  Guinea,  a  place  on  which  the  Dutch  hardly 
dare  set  their  feet,  on  account  of  the  treachery  and  warlike 
disposition  of  the  natives.  There  may  be  also  both  cloves 
and  nutmegs  upon  the  other  islands  far  to  the  eastward ;  for 
those  I  believe  neither  the  Dutch  nor  any  other  nation  seem 
to  think  it  worth  while  to  examine  at  all. 

The  town  of  Batavia,  though  the  capital  of  the  Dutch 
dominions  in  India,  is  so  far  from  being  peopled  with 
Dutchmen,  that  I  may  safely  affirm  that  of  the  Europeans 
inhabiting  it  and  its  neighbourhood,  not  one -fifth  part 
are  Dutch.  Besides  them  are  Portuguese,  Indians  and 
Chinese,  the  two  last  many  times  exceeding  the  Europeans 
in  number.  Of  each  of  these  I  shall  speak  separately, 
beginning  with  Europeans,  of  which  there  are  some,  especially 
in  the  troops,  of  almost  every  nation  in  Europe.  The 
Germans,  however,  are  so  much  the  most  numerous,  that 
they  two  or  three  times  exceed  in  number  all  other 
Europeans  together.  Fewer  English  are  settled  here  than 
of  any  other  nation,  and  next  to  them  French ;  the  politic 
Dutch  (well  knowing  that  the  English  and  French,  being 
maritime  powers,  must  often  have  ships  in  the  East  Indies, 
and  will  demand  and  obtain  from  them  the  subjects  of  their 

1  Bachian,  off  the  south-west  coast  of  Gilolo,  is  really  south  of  the  equator. 

2  D 


402  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

respective  kings)  will  not  enter  either  English  or  Frenchmen 
into  their  service,  unless  they  state  that  they  were  born  in 
some  place  out  of  their  own  country.  This  trick,  foolish  as 
it  is,  was  played  with  us  in  the  case  of  an  Irishman,  whom  we 
got  on  board,  and  whom  they  demanded  as  a  Dane,  offering  to 
prove  by  their  books  that  he  was  born  at  Elsinore ;  but  our 
captain,  convinced  by  the  man's  language,  refused  to  give 
him  up  so  resolutely,  that  they  soon  ceased  their  demands. 
Notwithstanding  the  very  great  number  of  other  Europeans, 
the  Dutch  are  politic  enough  to  keep  all  or  nearly  all  the 
great  posts,  as  Eaads  of  India,  Governors,  etc.,  in  their  own 
hands.  Other  nations  may  make  fortunes  here  by  traffic  if 
they  can,  but  not  by  employments.  No  man  can  come 
over  here  in  any  other  character  than  that  of  a  soldier  in 
the  Company's  service ;  in  which,  before  he  can  be  accepted, 
he  must  agree  to  remain  five  years.  As  soon,  however, 
as  ever  he  arrives  at  Batavia,  he,  by  applying  to  the 
Council,  may  be  allowed  to  absent  himself  from  his  corps, 
and  enter  immediately  into  any  vocation  in  which  he 
has  any  money  or  credit  to  set  up  in. 

Women  may  come  out  without  any  of  these  restrictions, 
be  they  of  what  nation  they  will.  We  were  told  that  there 
were  not  in  Batavia  twenty  women  born  in  Europe  ;  the  rest 
of  the  white  women,  who  were  not  very  scarce,  were  born  of 
white  parents,  possibly  three  or  four  generations  distant 
from  their  European  mothers.  These  imitate  the  Indians  in 
every  particular ;  their  dress,  except  in  form,  is  the  same ; 
their  hair  is  worn  in  the  same  manner,  and  they  chew  betel 
as  plentifully  as  any  Indian ;  notwithstanding  which  I  never 
saw  a  white  man  chew  it  during  my  whole  stay. 

Trade  is  carried  on  in  an  easier  and  more  indolent 
way  here,  I  believe,  than  in  any  part  of  the  world.  The 
Chinese  carry  on  every  manufacture  of  the  place,  and  sell 
the  produce  to  the  resident  merchants  ;  for,  indeed,  they  dare 
not  sell  to  any  foreigner.  Consequently  when  a  ship  comes 
in,  and  bespeaks  100  leggers  of  arrack,  or  anything  else,  the 
seller  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  send  orders  to  his  China- 
man to  deliver  them  on  board  such  a  ship ;  which  done,  the 


1770  TRADING  AND  CHEATING  403 

latter  brings  the  master  of  the  ship's  receipt  for  the  goods 
to  his  employer,  who  does  nothing  but  receive  money  from 
the  stranger,  and,  reserving  his  profit,  pay  the  Chinaman  his 
demands.  With  imports,  however,  they  must  have  a  little 
more  trouble ;  for  they  must  examine,  receive,  and  preserve 
them  in  their  own  warehouses,  as  other  merchants  do. 

To  give  a  character  of  them  in  their  dealings,  I  need  only 
say  that  the  jewel  known  to  English  merchants  by  the  name 
of  fair  dealing  is  totally  unknown  here  :  they  have  joined  all 
the  art  of  trade  that  a  Dutchman  is  famous  for  to  the  deceit 
of  an  Indian.  Cheating  by  false  weights  and  measures,  false 
samples,  etc.  etc.,  are  looked  upon  only  as  arts  of  trade  :  if  you 
do  not  find  them  out,  'tis  well ;  if  you  do,  "  well,"  they  say, 
"  then  we  must  give  what  is  wanting,"  and  refund  without 
a  blush  or  the  least  wrangle,  as  I  myself  have  seen  in 
matters  relating  to  the  ship.  But  their  great  forte  is  asking 
one  price  for  their  commodities  and  charging  another ; 
so  that  a  man  who  has  laid  in  100  peculs  of  sugar,  at  five 
dollars  a  pecul  as  he  thinks,  will,  after  it  has  been  a  week 
or  ten  days  on  board,  have  a  bill  brought  him  in  at  seven ;  nor 
will  the  merchant  go  from  his  charge  unless  a  written  agree- 
ment or  witnesses  be  brought  to  prove  the  bargain.  For 
my  own  part  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  have  heard  this 
character  of  them  before  I  came  here ;  and  wanting  nothing 
but  daily  provision,  agreed  immediately  in  writing  for  every 
article  at  a  certain  price,  which  my  landlord  could  con- 
sequently never  depart  from.  I  also,  as  long  as  I  was  well, 
constantly  once  a  week,  looked  over  my  bill,  and  took  it  into  my 
possession,  never,  however,  without  scratching  out  the  charges 
of  things  which  I  had  never  had  to  a  considerable  amount, 
which  was  always  done  without  a  moment's  hesitation. 

Next  to  the  Dutch  are  the  Portuguese,  who  are  called  by 
the  natives  Oran  Serane,  that  is  Nazarenes,  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Europeans,  notwithstanding  which,  they  are 
included  in  the  general  name  of  Capir  or  Cqfir,  an  oppro- 
brious term  given  by  the  Mahometans  to  all  those  who  have 
not  entered  into  their  faith,  of  whatsoever  religion  they  may 
be.  These,  though  formerly  they  were  Portuguese,  have  no 


404  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

loDger  any  pretensions  to  more  than  the  name ;  they  have  all 
changed  their  religion  and  become  Lutherans,  and  have  no 
communication  with  or  even  knowledge  of  the  country  of 
their  forefathers.  They  speak,  indeed,  a  corrupt  dialect  of  the 
Portuguese  language,  but  much  oftener  Malay  :  none  of  them 
are  suffered  to  employ  themselves  in  any  but  mean  occupa- 
tions ;  many  make  their  livelihood  by  hunting,  taking  in 
washing,  and  some  by  handicraft  trades.  Their  customs  are 
precisely  the  same  as  those  of  the  Indians,  like  them  they 
chew  betel,  and  are  only  to  be  distinguished  from  them  by 
their  noses  being  sharper,  their  skins  considerably  blacker, 
and  their  hair  dressed  in  a  manner  different  from  that  of 
Indians. 

The  Dutch,  Portuguese,  and  Indians  here  are  entirely 
waited  upon  by  slaves,  whom  they  purchase  from  Sumatra, 
Malacca,  and  almost  all  their  eastern  islands.  The  natives 
of  Java  only  have  an  exemption  from  slavery,  enforced  by 
strong  penal  laws,  which,  I  believe,  are  very  seldom  broken. 
The  price  of  these  slaves  is  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  sterling 
apiece ;  excepting  young  girls,  who  are  sold  on  account  of 
their  beauty ;  these  sometimes  go  as  high  as  a  hundred,  but 
I  believe  never  higher.  They  are  a  most  lazy  set  of  people, 
but  contented  with  a  little ;  boiled  rice,  with  a  little  of  the 
cheapest  fish,  is  the  food  which  they  prefer  to  all  others. 
They  differ  immensely  in  form  of  body,  disposition,  and 
consequently  in  value,  according  to  the  countries  they  come 
from.  African  negroes,  called  here  Papua,  are  the  cheapest 
and  worst  disposed  of  any,  being  given  to  stealing  and  almost 
incorrigible  by  stripes.  Next  to  them  are  the  Bougis  and  the 
Macassars,  both  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Celebes.  They 
are  lazy  and  revengeful  in  the  highest  degree,  easily  giving 
up  their  lives  to  satisfy  their  revenge.  The  island  of  Bali 
sends  the  most  honest  and  faithful,  consequently  the  dearest 
slaves,  and  Mas,  a  small  island  on  the  coast  of  Sumatra, 
the  handsomest  women,  but  of  tender,  delicate  constitutions, 
ill  able  to  bear  the  unwholesome  climate  of  Batavia. 
Besides  these  are  many  more  sorts,  whose  names  and 
qualifications  I  have  entirely  forgotten. 


i7?o  SLAVES  405 

The  laws  and  customs  regarding  the  punishment  of  slaves 
are  these.  A  master  may  punish  his  slaves  as  far  as  he 
thinks  proper  by  stripes,  but  should  death  be  the  consequence, 
he  is  called  to  a  very  severe  account ;  if  the  fact  is  proved, 
very  rarely  escaping  with  life.  There  is,  however,  an  officer 
in  every  quarter  of  the  town  called  marineu,  who  is  a  kind  of 
constable.  He  attends  to  quell  all  riots,  takes  up  all  people 
guilty  of  crimes,  etc.,  but  is  more  particularly  utilised  for 
apprehending  runaway  slaves,  and  punishing  them  for  that 
or  any  other  crime  for  which  their  master  thinks  they 
deserve  a  greater  punishment  than  he  chooses  to  inflict. 
These  punishments  are  inflicted  by  slaves  bred  up  to  the 
business :  on  men  they  are  inflicted  before  the  door  of  their 
master's  house :  on  women,  for  decency's  sake,  within  it. 
The  punishment  is  stripes,  in  number  according  to  custom 
and  the  nature  of  the  crime,  with  rods  made  of  split  rattans, 
which  fetch  blood  at  every  stroke.  Consequently  they  may 
be,  and  sometimes  are,  very  severe.  A  common  punishment 
costs  the  master  of  the  slave  a  rix-dollar  (4s.),  and  a  severe 
one  about  a  ducatoon  (6s.  8d.)  For  their  encouragement, 
however,  and  to  prevent  them  from  stealing,  the  master  of 
every  slave  is  obliged  to  give  him  three  dubblecheys  (*7|-d.) 
a  week. 

Extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  there  are  very  few  Javans, 
that  is  descendants  of  the  original  inhabitants  of  Java,  who 
live  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia,  but  there  are  as  many 
sorts  of  Indians  as  there  are  countries  the  Dutch  import 
slaves  from ;  either  slaves  made  free  or  descendants  of  such. 
They  are  all  called  by  the  name  of  oran  slam,  or  Isalam, 
a  name  by  which  they  distinguish  themselves  from  all  other 
religions,  the  term  signifying  believers  of  the  true  faith. 
They  are  again  subdivided  into  innumerable  divisions,  the 
people  from  each  country  keeping  themselves  in  some  degree 
distinct  from  the  rest.  The  dispositions  generally  observed 
in  the  slaves  are,  however,  visible  in  the  freemen,  who 
completely  inherit  the  different  vices  or  virtues  of  their 
respective  countries. 

Many  of  these  employ  themselves  in  cultivating  gardens, 


4o6  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

and  in  selling  fruit  and  flowers;  all  the  betel  and  areca, 
called  here  siri  and  pinang,  of  which  an  immense  quantity  is 
chewed  by  Portuguese,  Chinese,  Slams,  slaves,  and  freemen, 
is  grown  by  them.  The  lime  that  they  use  here  is,  however, 
slaked,  by  which  means  their  teeth  are  not  eaten  up  in  the 
same  manner  as  those  of  the  people  of  Savu  who  use  it 
unslaked.  They  mix  it  also  with  a  substance  called  gambir, 
which  is  brought  from  the  continent  of  India,  and  the  better 
sort  of  women  use  with  their  chew  many  sorts  of  perfumes, 
as  cardamoms,  etc.,  to  give  the  breath  an  agreeable  smell. 
Many  also  get  a  livelihood  by  fishing  and  carrying  goods 
upon  the  water,  etc.  Some,  however,  there  are  who  are  very 
rich  and  live  splendidly  in  their  own  way,  which  consists 
almost  entirely  in  possessing  a  number  of  slaves. 

In  the  article  of  food  no  people  can  be  more  abstemious 
than  they  are.  Boiled  rice  is  of  rich,  as  well  as  of  poor,  the 
principal  part  of  their  subsistence :  this  with  a  small  pro- 
portion of  fish,  buffalo  or  fowl,  and  sometimes  dried  fish  and 
dry  shrimps,  brought  here  from  China,  is  their  chief  food. 
Everything,  however,  must  be  highly  seasoned  with  cayenne 
pepper.  They  have  also  many  pastry  dishes  made  of  rice 
flour  and  other  things  I  am  totally  ignorant  of,  which  are 
very  pleasant :  fruit  also  they  eat  much  of,  especially 
plantains. 

Their  feasts  are  plentiful,  and  in  their  way  magnificent, 
though  they  consist  more  of  show  than  meat :  artificial 
flowers,  etc.,  are  in  profusion,  and  meat  plentiful,  though 
there  is  no  great  variety  of  dishes.  Their  religion  of  Ma- 
hometanism  denies  them  the  use  of  strong  liquors  :  nor  do  I 
believe  that  they  trespass  much  in  that  way,  having  always 
tobacco,  betel,  and  opium  wherewith  to  intoxicate  themselves. 
Their  weddings  are  carried  on  with  vast  form  and  show : 
the  families  concerned  borrowing  as  many  gold  and  silver 
ornaments  as  possible  to  adorn  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  so 
that  their  dresses  are  always  costly.  The  feasts  and  cere- 
monies relating  to  them  last  in  rich  men's  families  a  fort- 
night or  more  ;  during  all  which  time  the  man,  though  married 
on  the  first  day,  is  by  the  women  kept  from  his  wife. 


1770  MALAYS  407 

The  language  spoken  among  them  is  entirely  Malay,  or  at 
least  so  called,  for  I  believe  it  is  a  most  corrupt  dialect. 
Notwithstanding  that  Java  has  two  or  three  languages,  and 
almost  every  little  island  besides  its  own,  distinct  from  the 
rest,  yet  none  use,  or  I  believe  remember,  their  own  language, 
so  that  this  Lingua  Franca  Malay  is  the  only  one  spoken  in 
this  neighbourhood,  and,  I  have  been  told,  over  a  very  large 
part  of  the  East  Indies. 

Their  women,  and  in  imitation  of  them  the  Dutch  also, 
wear  as  much  hair  as  ever  they  can  nurse  up  on  their  heads, 
which  by  the  use  of  oils,  etc.,  is  incredibly  great.  It  is 
universally  black,  and  they  wear  it  in  a  kind  of  circular 
wreath  upon  the  tops  of  their  heads,  fastened  with  a 
bodkin,  in  a  taste  inexpressibly  elegant.  I  have  often  wished 
that  one  of  our  ladies  could  see  a  Malay  woman's  head 
dressed  in  this  manner,  with  her  wreath  of  flowers,  commonly 
Arabian  jasmine,  round  that  of  hair ;  for  in  that  method  of 
dress  there  is  certainly  an  elegant  simplicity  and  unaffected 
show  of  the  beauties  of  nature  incomparably  superior  to  any- 
thing I  have  seen  in  the  laboured  head-dresses  of  my  fair 
country-women.  Both  sexes  bathe  themselves  in  the  river 
constantly  at  least  once  a  day,  a  most  necessary  custom 
in  hot  climates.  Their  teeth  also,  disgustful  as  they  must 
appear  to  a  European  from  their  blackness,  occasioned  by 
their  continued  chewing  of  betel,  are  a  great  object  of 
attention :  every  one  must  have  them  filed  into  the 
fashionable  form,  which  is  done  with  whetstones  by  a  most 
troublesome  and  painful  operation.  First,  both  the  upper 
and  under  teeth  are  rubbed  till  they  are  perfectly  even  and 
quite  blunt,  so  that  the  two  jaws  lose  not  less  than  half  a 
line  each  in  the  operation.  Then  a  deep  groove  is  made  in 
the  middle  of  the  upper  teeth,  crossing  them  all,  and  itself 
cutting  through  at  least  one-fourth  of  the  whole  thickness  of 
the  teeth,  so  that  the  enamel  is  cut  quite  through,  a  fact 
which  we  Europeans,  who  are  taught  by  our  dentifricators 
that  any  damage  done  to  the  enamel  is  mortal  to  the  tooth, 
find  it  difficult  to  believe.  Yet  among  these  people,  where 
this  custom  is  universal,  I  have  scarce  seen  even  in  old  people 


4o8  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

a  rotten  tooth  :  much  may  be  attributed  to  what  they  chew  so 
continually,  which  they  themselves,  and  indeed  every  one  else, 
agree  is  very  beneficial  to  the  teeth.  The  blackness,  however, 
caused  by  this,  of  which  they  are  so  proud,  is  not  a  fixed 
stain,  but  may  be  rubbed  off  at  pleasure,  and  then  their 
teeth  are  as  white  as  ivory,  but  very  soon  regain  their 
original  blackness. 

No  one  who  has  ever  been  in  these  countries  can  be 
ignorant  of  the  practice  here  called  amoc,  which  means 
that  an  Indian  intoxicated  with  opium  rushes  into  the 
street  with  a  drawn  dagger  in  his  hand,  and  kills  every- 
body he  meets,  especially  Europeans,  till  he  is  himself  either 
killed  or  taken.  This  happened  at  Batavia  three  times 
while  we  were  there  to  my  knowledge,  and  much  oftener  I 
believe ;  for  the  marineu,  or  constable,  whose  business  it  is 
to  apprehend  such  people,  himself  told  me  there  was  scarcely 
a  week  when  either  he  himself  or  some  of  his  brethren  was 
not  called  upon  to  seize  or  kill  them.  So  far,  however,  from 
being  an  accidental  madness  which  drove  them  to  kill 
whomsoever  they  met  without  distinction  of  persons,  the 
three  people  that  I  knew  of,  and  I  have  been  told  all  others, 
had  been  severely  injured,  chiefly  in  love  affairs,  and  first 
revenged  themselves  on  the  party  who  had  injured  them. 
It  is  true  that  they  had  made  themselves  drunk  with  opium 
before  they  committed  this  action ;  and  when  it  was  done 
rushed  out  into  the  streets,  foaming  at  the  mouth  like  mad 
dogs,  with  their  drawn  criss  or  dagger  in  their  hands :  but 
they  never  attempted  to  hurt  any  one  except  those  who  tried 
or  appeared  to  them  to  try  to  stop  or  seize  them.  Whoever 
ran  away  or  went  on  the  other  side  of  the  street  was  safe. 
To  prove  that  these  people  distinguish  persons,  mad  as  they 
are  with  opium,  there  is  a  famous  story  in  Batavia  of  one 
who  ran  amoc  on  account  of  stripes  and  ill-usage  which  he 
had  received  from  his  mistress  and  her  elder  daughter,  but 
who  on  the  contrary  had  always  been  well  used  by  the 
younger.  He  stabbed  first  the  eldest  daughter ;  the  youngest 
hearing  the  bustle,  ran  to  the  assistance  of  her  mother,  and 
placed  herself  between  him  and  her,  attempting  to  persuade 


1770  RUNNING  AMOC  409 

him  from  his  design ;  but  he  repeatedly  pushed  her  on  one 
side  before  he  could  get  at  her  mother,  and  when  he  had 
killed  the  latter,  ran  out  as  usual.  These  people  are  generally 
slaves,  who  indeed  are  by  much  the  most  subject  to  insults, 
which  they  cannot  revenge.  Freemen,  however,  sometimes 
do  it :  one  of  them  who  did  it  while  I  was  there  was  free 
and  of  some  substance.  The  cause  was  jealousy  of  his  own 
brother,  whom  he  killed,  with  two  more  that  attempted  to 
oppose  him  before  he  was  taken.  He,  however,  never  came 
out  of  his  house,  which  he  attempted  to  defend ;  but  so  mad 
was  he  with  the  effects  of  the  opium,  that  out  of  three 
muskets  which  he  tried  to  use  against  the  officers  of  justice, 
not  one  was  either  loaded  or  primed. 

The  marineu  has  also  these  amocs  committed  to  his 
charge.  If  he  takes  them  alive  his  reward  is  great :  if  he 
kills  them  that  reward  is  lost ;  notwithstanding  which  three 
out  of  four  are  killed,  so  resolute  and  active  is  their  resistance 
when  attacked.  They  have  contrivances  like  large  tongs  or 
pincers  to  catch  them,  and  hold  them  till  disarmed :  those 
who  are  taken  are  generally  wounded  severely;  for  the 
marineu' s  assistants,  who  are  all  armed  with  hangers,  know 
how  to  lame  the  man  if  once  they  can  get  within  reach. 
The  punishment  of  this  crime  is  always  breaking  upon  the 
wheel ;  nor  is  that  ever  relaxed,  but  so  strictly  adhered  to, 
that  if  an  amoc  when  taken  is  judged  by  the  physician  to 
be  in  danger  from  his  wounds,  he  is  executed  the  very  next 
day,  as  near  as  possible  to  the  place  where  he  committed 
his  first  murder. 

Among  their  absurd  opinions  proceeding  from  their 
original  idolatry,  which  they  still  retain  to  some  extent,  is 
certainly  the  custom  of  consecrating  meat,  money,  etc.,  to 
the  devil,  whom  they  call  Satan.  This  is  done,  either  in 
cases  of  dangerous  sickness,  when  they  by  these  means  try 
to  appease  the  devil,  whom  they  believe  to  be  the  cause  of 
all  sickness,  and  make  him  spare  the  diseased  man's  life,  or 
in  consequence  of  dreams.  If  any  man  is  restless  and 
dreams  much  for  two  or  three  nights,  he  immediately  con- 
cludes that  Satan  has  taken  that  method  of  laying  his 


410  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

commands  upon  him,  and  that  if  he  neglects  to  fulfil  them, 
he  will  certainly  suffer  sickness  or  death  as  a  punishment 
for  his  inattention.  Consequently  he  begins  to  labour  over 
in  his  brains  all  the  circumstances  of  his  dream,  and  try  his 
utmost  to  put  some  explanation  or  other  upon  them.  In 
this,  if  he  fails,  he  sends  for  the  cawin  or  priest,  who  assists 
him  to  interpret  them.  Sometimes  Satan  orders  him  to  do 
this  thing  or  that,  but  generally  he  wants  either  meat  or 
money,  which  is  always  sent  him,  and  hung  upon  a  little 
plate  made  of  cocoanut  leaves  on  the  boughs  of  a  tree,  near 
the  river.  I  have  asked  them  what  they  thought  the  devil 
did  with  money,  and  whether  or  no  they  thought  that  he 
ate  the  victuals.  As  for  the  money,  they  said,  so  that  the 
man  ordered  to  do  so  did  but  part  with  it,  it  signified  not 
who  took  it,  therefore  it  was  generally  a  prey  to  the  first 
stranger  who  found  it ;  and  the  meat  he  did  not  eat,  but 
bringing  his  mouth  near  it,  he  at  once  sucked  all  the  savour 
out  of  it,  without  disturbing  its  position  in  the  least,  but 
rendering  it  as  tasteless  as  water. 

But  what  is  more  difficult  to  reconcile  to  the  rules  of 
human  reason,  is  the  belief  that  these  people  have,  that 
women  who  bring  forth  children  sometimes  bring  forth  at 
the  same  time  young  crocodiles  as  twins  to  the  children. 
These  creatures  are  received  by  the  midwives  most  carefully, 
and  immediately  carried  down  to  the  river,  where  they  are 
turned  loose,  but  have  victuals  supplied  them  constantly 
from  the  family,  especially  the  twin,  who  is  obliged  to 
go  down  to  the  river  every  now  and  then,  and  give  meat 
to  this  sudara,  as  it  is  called.  The  latter,  if  he  is  deprived  of 
such  attendance,  constantly  afflicts  his  relation  with  sickness. 
The  existence  of  an  opinion  so  contrary  to  human  reason, 
and  which  seemed  totally  unconnected  with  religion,  was 
with  me  long  a  subject  of  doubt,  but  the  universal  testimony 
of  every  Indian  I  ever  heard  speak  of  it  was  not  to  be 
withstood.  It  seems  to  have  taken  its  rise  in  the  islands  of 
Celebes  and  Bouton,  very  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  which 
have  crocodiles  in  their  families ;  from  thence  it  has  spread 
all  over  the  eastern  islands,  even  to  Timor  and  Ceram,  and 


1770  TWIN  CROCODILES  411 

west  again  as  far  as  Java  and  Sumatra ;  on  which  islands, 
however,  such  instances  are  very  scarce  among  the  natives. 
To  show  how  firmly  this  prejudice  has  laid  hold  of  the 
minds  of  ignorant  people,  I  shall  repeat  one  story  out  of 
the  multitude  I  have  heard,  confirming  it  from  ocular 
demonstration. 

A  slave  girl  who  was  born  and  bred  up  among  the 
English  at  Bencoulen  on  the  island  of  Sumatra,  by  which 
means  she  had  learnt  a  little  English,  told  me  that  her 
father  when  on  his  deathbed  told  her  that  he  had  a  crocodile 
for  his  sudara,  and  charged  her  to  give  him  meat,  etc.,  after 
he  was  gone,  telling  her  in  what  part  of  the  river  he  was  to 
be  found.  She  went,  she  said,  constantly,  and  calling  him 
by  his  name  Eadja  pouti  (White  King),  he  came  out  of  the 
water  to  her,  and  ate  what  she  brought.  He  was,  she  said, 
not  like  other  crocodiles,  but  handsomer,  his  body  being 
spotted,  and  his  nose  red ;  moreover,  he  had  bracelets  of  gold 
on  his  feet,  and  earrings  of  the  same  metal  in  his  ears.  I 
heard  her  out  patiently,  without  finding  fault  with  the 
absurdity  of  her  giving  ears  to  a  crocodile.  While  I  am 
writing  this,  my  servant,  whom  I  hired  at  Batavia,  and  is  a 
mongrel,  between  a  Dutchman  and  a  Java  woman,  tells  me 
that  he  has  seen  at  Batavia  a  crocodile  of  this  kind :  it  was 
about  two  feet  long,  being  very  young.  Many,  both  Malays 
and  Dutch,  saw  it  at  the  same  time  ;  it  had  gold  bracelets  on. 
"  Ah ! "  said  I,  "  why  such  a  one  at  Batavia  told  me  of  one 
which  had  earrings  likewise,  and  you  know  that  a  crocodile 
has  no  ears."  "  Ah  !  but,"  said  he,  "  these  sudara  are  different 
from  other  crocodiles,  they  have  five  toes  on  each  foot,  and 
a  large  tongue  which  fills  the  mouth,  and  they  have  ears 
also,  but  they  are  very  small."  So  far  will  a  popular  error 
deceive  people  unused  to  examine  into  the  truth  of  what 
they  are  told.  The  Bougis,  Macassars,  and  Boutons,  many 
of  whom  have  such  relations  left  behind  in  their  own 
country,  make  a  kind  of  ceremonial  feast  in  memory  of 
them :  a  large  party  go  in  a  boat  furnished  with  plenty  of 
provisions  of  all  kinds  and  music,  and  row  about  in  places 
where  crocodiles  or  alligators  are  most  common,  singing  and 


412  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

crying  by  turns,  each  invoking  his  relation.  In  this  manner 
they  go  on  till  they  are  fortunate  enough  to  see,  or  fancy  at 
least  that  they  see,  one,  when  their  music  at  once  stops,  and 
they  throw  overboard  provisions,  betel,  tobacco,  etc.,  imagin- 
ing, I  suppose,  that  their  civility  to  the  species  will  induce 
their  kindred  at  home  to  think  well  of  them,  though  unable 
to  pay  their  proper  offerings. 

Next  come  (the  Chinese,  who  in  this  place  are  very 
numerous,  but  seem  to  be  people  of  small  substance.  Many 
of  them  live  within  the  walls,  and  keep  shops,  some  few  of 
which  are  furnished  with  a  pretty  rich  show  of  European 
as  well  as  Chinese  goods ;  but  by  far  the  greater  number 
live  in  a  quarter  by  themselves,  without  the  walls,  called 
Campon  China.  Besides  these,  there  are  others  scattered 
everywhere  about  the  country,  where  they  cultivate  gardens, 
sow  rice  and  sugar,  or  keep  cattle  and  buffaloes,  whose  milk 
they  bring  daily  to  town.  JSTor  are  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  and  Campon  China  less  industrious :  you  see  among 
them  carpenters,  joiners,  smiths,  tailors,  slipper-makers,  dyers 
of  cottons,  embroiderers,  etc. ;  in  short,  the  general  character 
of  industry  given  to  them  by  all  authors  who  have  written 
on  them  is  well  exemplified  here,  although  the  more  genteel 
of  their  customs  cannot,  on  account  of  the  want  of  rich 
and  well-born  people,  be  found  among  them :  those  can  be 
shown  in  China  alone ;  here  nothing  can  be  found  but  the 
native  disposition  of  the  lowest  class  of  people.  There  is 
nothing,  be  it  of  what  nature  it  will,  clean  or  dirty,  honest 
or  dishonest  (provided  there  is  not  too  much  danger  of  a 
halter),  which  a  Chinese  will  not  readily  do  for  money. 
They  work  diligently  and  laboriously,  and,  loth  to  lose  sight 
of  their  main  point,  money  getting,  no  sooner  do  they  leave 
off  work  than  they  begin  to  game,  either  with  cards,  dice, 
or  some  one  of  the  thousand  games  they  have,  which  are 
unknown  to  us  in  Europe.  In  this  manner  they  spend  their 
lives,  working  and  gaming,  scarcely  allowing  themselves  time 
for  the  necessary  refreshments  of  food  and  sleep ;  in  short, 
it  is  as  extraordinary  a  sight  to  see  a  Chinaman  idle  as  it 
is  to  see  a  Dutchman  or  Indian  at  work. 


1770  CHINESE  413 

In  manner  they  are  always  civil,  or  rather  obsequious ; 
in  dress  always  neat  and  clean  in  a  high  degree,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest.  To  attempt  to  describe  either  their 
dresses  or  persons  would  be  only  to  repeat  some  of  the  many 
accounts  of  them  that  have  already  been  published,  as  every 
one  has  been  written  by  people  who  had  much  better  oppor- 
tunities of  seeing  them,  and  more  time  to  examine  them 
than  I  have  had.  Indeed,  a  man  need  go  no  farther  to 
study  them  than  the  China  paper,  the  better  sorts  of  which 
represent  their  persons,  and  such  of  their  customs,  dresses, 
etc.,  as  I  have  seen,  most  strikingly  like,  though  a  little  in 
the  caricatura  style.  Indeed,  some  of  the  plants  which  are 
common  to  China  and  Java,  as  bamboo,  are  better  figured 
there  than  in  the  best  botanical  authors  that  I  have  seen. 
In  eating,  they  are  easily  satisfied,  not  but  that  the  richer 
have  many  savoury  dishes.  Eice,  however,  is  the  chief  food 
of  the  poor,  with  a  little  fish  or  flesh,  as  they  can  afford  it. 
They  have  a  great  advantage  over  the  Malays,  not  being 
taught  by  their  laws  or  religion  to  abstain  from  any  food 
that  is  wholesome,  so  that,  besides  pork,  dogs,  cats,  frogs, 
lizards  and  some  kinds  of  snakes,  as  well  as  many  sea 
animals  looked  upon  by  other  people  to  be  by  no  means 
eatable,  are  their  constant  food.  In  the  vegetable  way,  they 
also  eat  many  things  which  Europeans  would  never  think 
of,  even  if  starving  with  hunger ;  as  the  young  leaves  of 
many  trees,  the  lump  of  Iractece  and  flowers  at  the  end  of  a 
bunch  of  plantains,  the  flowers  of  a  tree  called  by  the  Malays 
combang  ture  (Aeschinomine  grandiflora),  the  pods  of  Jcellor 
(G-uilandina  moringa),  two  sorts  of  blites  (Amaranthus),  all 
which  are  boiled  or  stewed;  also  the  seeds  of  taratti 
(NympJiea  Nelumbo),  which  indeed  are  almost  as  good  as 
hazel  nuts.  All  these,  however,  the  Malays  also  eat,  as  well 
as  many  more  whose  names  I  had  not  an  opportunity  of 
learning,  as  my  illness  rendering  me  weak  and  unable  to  go 
about  prevented  me  from  mixing  with  these  people  as  I 
should  otherwise  have  done. 

In  their  burials  the  Chinese  have  an  extraordinary  super- 
stition, which  is  that  they  will  never  more  open  the  ground 


414  DESCRIPTION  OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

where  a  man  has  been  buried.  Thus  their  burying-grounds 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Batavia  cover  many  hundred  acres, 
on  which  account  the  Dutch,  grudging  the  quantity  of 
ground  laid  waste  by  this  method,  will  only  sell  them  land 
for  it  at  enormous  prices ;  notwithstanding  which  they  will 
always  raise  money  to  purchase  grounds,  whenever  they  can 
find  the  Dutch  in  a  humour  to  sell  them ;  and  actually  had 
while  we  were  there  a  great  deal  of  land  intended  for  that 
purpose,  but  not  yet  begun  upon.  Their  funerals  are 
attended  with  much  purchased  and  some  real  lamentations ; 
the  relations  of  the  deceased  attending  as  well  as  women 
hired  to  weep.  The  corpse  is  nailed  up  in  a  large  thick 
wooden  coffin,  not  made  of  planks,  but  hollowed  out  of  a 
trunk  of  a  tree.  This  is  let  down  into  the  grave  and  then 
surrounded  with  eight  or  ten  inches  of  their  mortar  or 
chinam  as  it  is  called,  which  in  a  short  time  becomes  as 
hard  as  a  stone,  so  that  the  bones  of  the  meanest  among 
them  are  more  carefully  preserved  from  injury  than  those  of 
our  greatest  and  most  respected  people. 

Of  the  Government  here  I  can  say  but  very  little,  only 
that  a  great  subordination  is  kept  up  ;  every  man  who  is  able 
to  keep  house  having  a  certain  rank  acquired  by  the  length  of 
his  services  to  the  Company,  which  ranks  are  distinguished 
by  the  ornaments  of  the  coaches  and  dresses  of  the  coach- 
man ;  for  instance,  one  must  ride  in  a  plain  coach,  another 
paints  his  coach  with  figures  and  gives  his  driver  a  laced  hat, 
another  gilds  his  coach,  etc. 

The  Governor-General  who  resides  here  is  superior  over 
all  the  Dutch  Governors  and  other  officers  in  the  East 
Indies,  who,  to  a  man,  are  obliged  to  come  to  him  at  Batavia 
to  have  their  accounts  passed.  If  they  are  found  to  have 
been  at  all  negligent  or  faulty,  it  is  a  common  practice  to 
delay  them  here  one,  two  or  three  years,  according  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  Governor ;  for  no  one  can  leave  the  place 
without  his  consent.  Next  to  the  Governor-General  are  the 
Raaden  van  Indie,  or  members  of  the  Council,  called  here 
Edele  Heeren,  and  by  the  corruption  of  the  English  Idoleers, 
in  respect  to  whom  every  one  who  meets  them  in  a  carriage 


i7?o  ADMINISTRATION— JUSTICE  415 

is  obliged  to  drive  on  one  side  of  the  road,  and  stop  there 
till  they  have  passed,  which  distinction  is  expected  by  their 
wives  and  even  children,  and  commonly  paid  to  them.  Nor 
can  the  hired  coachman  be  restrained  from  paying  this 
slavish  mark  of  respect  by  anything  but  the  threats  of 
instant  death,  as  some  of  our  captains  have  experienced,  who 
thought  it  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  rank  they  held  in  his 
Britannic  Majesty's  service  to  submit  to  any  such  humiliating 
ceremony. 

Justice  is  administered  here  by  a  parcel  of  gentlemen 
of  the  law,  who  have  ranks  and  dignities  among  themselves 
as  in  Europe.  In  civil  matters  I  know  nothing  of  their 
proceedings,  but  in  criminal  they  are  rather  severe  to  the 
natives,  and  too  lenient  to  their  countrymen,  who,  whatever 
crime  they  have  committed,  are  always  allowed  to  escape  if 
they  choose ;  and, If  brought  to  trial,  very  rarely'  punished 
with  death.  The  poor  Indians,  on  the  other  hand,  are  flogged, 
hanged,  broken  upon  the  wheel,  and  even  impaled  without 
mercy.  While  we  were  there  three  remarkable  crimes  were 
committed  by  Christians,  two  duellists  each  killed  his 
antagonist,  and  both  fled  ;  one  took  refuge  on  board  our  ship, 
bringing  with  him  so  good  a  character  from  the  Batavians, 
that  the  captain  gave  him  protection,  nor  was  he  ever 
demanded.  The  other,  I  suppose,  went  on  board  some  other 
ship,  as  he  was  never  taken.  The  third  was  a  Portuguese, 
who  by  means  of  a  false  key  had  robbed  an  office  to  which 
he  belonged  of  1400  or  1500  pounds;  he,  however,  was 
taken,  but  instead  of  death  condemned  to  a  public  whipping, 
and  banishment  to  Edam  for  ninety-nine  years. 

The  Malays  and  Chinese  have  each  proper  offices  of  their 
own,  a  captain  and  lieutenants  as  they  are  called,  who 
administer  justice  among  them  in  civil  cases,  subject  to  an 
appeal  to  the  Dutch  court,  which,  however,  rarely  occurs. 
Before  the  Chinese  rebellion,  as  the  Dutch,  or  the  massacre, 
as  the  Chinese  themselves  and  most  Europeans,  call  it,  in 
1740  (when  the  Dutch,  upon,  maybe,  too  slight  information, 
massacred  no  man  knows  how  many  thousand  unresisting 
Chinese,  for  a  supposed  rebellion  which  the  latter  to  this 


416  DESCRIPTION   OF  BATAVIA  CHAP,  xvn 

day  declare  they  never  so  much  as  thought  of),  the  Chinese 
had  two  or  three  of  their  body  in  the  Council,  and  had  many 
more  privileges  than  now.  From  that  time  to  this  they  have 
by  no  means  recovered  either  their  former  opulence  or 
numbers.  Every  one  now  who  has  got  anything  considerable 
prefers  to  retire  with  it  either  to  China  or  anywhere,  rather 
than  remain  in  the  power  of  a  people  who  have  behaved  so 
ill  to  them. 

The  taxes  paid  by  these  people  to  the  Company  are  very 
considerable ;  among  which  that  commonly  said  to  be  paid 
for  the  liberty  of  wearing  their  hair  is  not  inconsiderable. 
It  is,  however,  no  other  than  a  kind  of  head-money  or  poll- 
tax,  for  no  Chinese  can  wear  his  hair  who  has  ever  been  in 
China,  it  being  a  principle  of  their  religion  never  to  let  their 
hair  grow  again  when  once  it  has  been  shaved  off.  These 
taxes  are  paid  monthly,  when  a  flag  is  hoisted  at  a  house  in 
the  middle  of  the  town  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

The  coins  current  here  are  ducats,  worth  11s.  sterling, 
ducatoons  (6s.  8d.),  Imperial  rix-dollars  (5s.),  rupees  (2s.  6d.), 
scellings  (Is.  6d.),  dubblecheys  (2|-d.)  and  doits  (^d.)  Spanish 
dollars  were  when  we  were  there  at  5s.  5d.,  and  we  were 
told  were  never  lower  than  5s.  4d.  Even  at  the  Company's 
warehouse  I  could  get  no  more  than  19s.  for  English  guineas, 
for  though  the  Chinamen  would  give  20s.  for  some  of  the 
brightest,  they  would  for  those  at  all  worn  give  no  more  than 
17s.  Strangers  must,  however,  be  cautious  in  receiving 
money,  as  there  are  several  kinds,  of  two  sorts,  milled  and 
unmilled ;  ducatoons,  for  example,  when  milled  are  worth 
6s.  8d.,  unmilled  only  6s.  All  accounts  are  kept  in  rix- 
dollars  and  stivers,  both  imaginary  coins,  at  least  here ;  the 
first  worth  4s.,  the  other  Id.  It  must  also  be  remarked  that 
this  valuation  of  their  coin  is  rated  on  the  supposition  of  a 
stiver  being  worth  a  penny,  while  it  is  really  more ;  a 
current  rix-dollar  of  48  stivers  being  worth  4s.  6d. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

BATAVIA    TO    CAPE    OF    GOOD    HOPE 
DECEMBER  25,  1770 

Leave  Batavia — Cracatoa — Mosquitos  on  board  ship — Prince's  Island — 
Visit  the  town — Account  of  Prince's  Island — Produce — Religion — Nuts 
of  Cycas  circinalis — Town — Houses — Bargaining — Language — Affinity  of 
Malay,  Madagascar  and  South  Sea  Islands  languages — Leave  Prince's 
Island — Sickness  on  board — Deaths  of  Mr.  Sporing,  Mr.  Parkinson,  Mr. 
Green,  and  many  others — Coast  of  Natal — Dangerous  position  of  the 
ship — Cape  of  Good  Hope — Dr.  Solander's  illness — French  ships — 
Bougainville's  voyage. 

25th  December  17*70.  There  was  not,  I  believe,  a  man 
in  the  ship  but  gave  his  utmost  aid  to  getting  up  the  anchor, 
so  completely  tired  was  every  one  of  the  unhealthy  air  of  this 
place.  We  had  buried  here  eight  people.  In  general, 
however,  the  crew  were  in  rather  better  health  than  they  had 
been  a  fortnight  before.1 

While  we  were  at  work  a  man  was  missed,  and  as  it 
was  supposed  that  he  did  not  intend  to  stay  ashore,  a  boat 
was  sent  after  him ;  its  return  delayed  us  so  long  that  we 
entirely  lost  the  sea  breeze,  and  were  obliged  to  come  to 
again  a  few  cables'  lengths  only  from  where  we  lay  before. 

1st  January  1771.  Worked  all  night,  and  to-day  like- 
wise :  at  night  anchored  under  a  high  island,  called  in  the 
draughts  Cracatoa  and  by  the  Indians  Pulo  Eacatta.  I  had 
been  unaccountably  troubled  with  mosquitos  ever  since  we 

1  At  the  time  of  sailing  the  number  of  sick  on  board  amounted  to  forty  or 
more,  and  the  rest  were  in  a  weakly  condition,  having  every  one  been  sick 
except  the  sailmaker,  an  old  man  about  seventy  or  eighty  years  of  age  ;  and 
what  was  more  extraordinary  about  this  man  was  his  being  more  or  less 
generally  drunk  every  day. — Wharton's  Cook,  p.  362. 

2  E 


418  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE      CH.  xvm 

left  Batavia,  and  still  imagined  that  they  increased  instead 
of  decreasing,  although  my  opinion  was  universally  thought 
improbable.  To-day,  however,  the  mystery  was  discovered, 
for  on  getting  up  water  Dr.  Solander,  who  happened  to 
stand  near  the  scuttle-cask,  observed  an  infinite  number 
of  them  in  their  water-state,  which,  as  soon  as  the  sun  had 
a  little  effect  upon  the  water,  began  to  come  out  in  real 
effective  mosquitos  incredibly  fast. 

2nd.  We  saw  that  there  were  many  houses  and  much 
cultivation  upon  Cracatoa,  so  that  probably  a  ship  which 
chose  to  touch  here  in  preference  to  Prince's  Island  might 
meet  with  refreshments. 

4th.  Soon  after  dinner-time  to-day  we  anchored  under 
Prince's  Island  and  went  ashore.  The  people  who  met  us 
carried  us  immediately  to  a  man  who  they  told  us  was  their 
king,  and  with  whom,  after  a  few  compliments,  we  proceeded 
to  business.  This  was  to  settle  the  price  of  turtle,  in  which 
we  did  not  well  agree.  This,  however,  did  not  at  all  dis- 
courage us,  as  we  doubted  not  but  that  in  the  morning  we 
should  have  them  at  our  own  price.  So  we  walked  a  little 
way  along  shore  and  the  Indians  dispersed.  One  canoe, 
however,  remained,  and,  just  as  we  went  off",  sold  us  three 
turtle  on  a  promise  that  we  should  not  tell  the  king. 

6th.  Ashore  to-day  trading :  the  Indians  dropped  their 
demands  very  slowly,  but  were  very  civil.  Towards  noon, 
however,  they  came  down  to  the  offered  price,  so  that  before 
night  we  had  bought  up  a  large  supply  of  turtle.  In  the 
evening  I  went  to  pay  my  respects  to  his  Majesty  the  king, 
whom  I  found  in  his  house  in  the  middle  of  a  rice-field,  cook- 
ing his  own  supper;  he  received  me,  however,  very  politely. 

llth.  My  servant,  Sander,  whom  I  had  hired  at  Batavia, 
having  found  out  that  these  people  had  a  town  somewhere 
along  shore  to  the  westward,  and  not  very  far  off,  I  resolved 
to  visit  it ;  but  knowing  that  the  inhabitants  were  not  at  all 
desirous  of  our  company,  kept  my  intentions  secret  from 
them.  In  the  morning  I  set  out,  accompanied  by  our  second 
lieutenant,  and  went  along  shore,  telling  all  whom  I  met 
that  I  was  in  search  of  plants,  which  indeed  was  also  the 


JAN.  1771  PRINCE'S  ISLAND  419 

case.  In  about  two  hours  we  arrived  at  a  place  where  were 
four  or  five  houses.  Here  we  met  an  old  man,  and  ventured 
to  ask  him  questions  about  the  town.  He  said  it  was  very 
distant;  but  we,  not  much  relying  on  his  information, 
proceeded  on  our  way,  as  did  he  in  our  company,  attempting, 
however,  several  times  to  lead  us  out  of  the  pathway  which 
we  were  now  in.  We  remained  firm  to  our  purpose,  and 
soon  got  sight  of  our  desired  object;  the  old  man  then 
turned  our  friend,  and  accompanied  us  to  the  houses,  I 
suppose  nearly  400  in  number,  divided  into  the  old  and 
new  town,  between  which  was  a  brackish  river.  In  the  old 
town  we  met  with  several  old  acquaintances,  one  of  whom 
at  the  rate  of  2d.  a  head  undertook  to  transport  us  over  the 
river,  which  he  did  in  two  very  small  canoes,  which  we 
prevented  from  oversetting  by  laying  them  alongside  each 
other,  and  holding  them  together.  In  this  manner  we 
safely  went  through  our  navigation,  and  arrived  at  the  new 
town,  where  were  the  houses  of  the  king  and  all  the  nobilities. 
These  the  inhabitants  very  freely  showed  to  us,  though  most 
of  them  were  shut  up,  the  people  in  general  at  this  time  of 
the  year  living  in  their  rice-fields,  to  defend  the  crop  from 
monkeys,  birds,  etc.  When  our  curiosity  was  satisfied,  we 
hired  a  large  sailing  boat,  for  which  we  gave  two  rupees 
(4s.),1  and  which  carried  us  home  again  in  time  to  dine  upon 
a  deer  we  had  bought  the  day  before.  It  proved  very  good 
and  savoury  meat. 

In  the  evening,  when  we  went  ashore,  we  were  acquainted 
that  an  axe  had  been  stolen  from  one  of  our  people :  this,  as 
the  first  theft,  we  thought  it  not  proper  to  pass  over,  so 
immediate  application  was  made  to  the  king,  who  after  some 
time  promised  that  it  should  be  returned  in  the  morning. 

12th.  The  hatchet  was  brought  down  according  to 
promise ;  the  thief,  they  said,  afraid  of  conviction,  had  in  the 
night  conveyed  it  into  the  house  of  the  man  who  brought  it. 
Myself  was  this  day  seized  with  a  return  of  my  Batavia 
fever,  which  I  attributed  to  having  been  much  exposed  to  a 
burning  sun  in  trading  with  the  natives. 

1  At  Batavia  the  rupee  was  stated  to  be  worth  2s.  6d. 


420  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE      CH.  xvm 

1 3th.  My  fever  returned,  but  I  resolved  not  to  attempt 
to  cure  it  till  in  the  main  ocean  I  should  meet  with  a  better 
air  than  this  uncleared  island  could  possibly  have.  In  the 
evening  after  my  fit  I  went  ashore  to  the  king,  to  whom 
time  after  time  I  had  made  small  presents,  altogether  not  of 
five  shillings  value,  carrying  two  quires  of  paper,  which,  like 
everything  else,  he  most  thankfully  received.  We  had  much 
conversation,  the  purport  of  which  was  his  asking  why  the 
English  ships  did  not  touch  here,  as  they  used  to  do.  I 
told  him  that  as  they  had  not  on  the  island  turtle  enough  to 
supply  one  ship,  they  could  not  expect  many ;  but  advised 
him  to  breed  cattle,  sheep,  and  buffaloes,  which  advice, 
however,  he  did  not  seem  much  to  approve  of. 

Some  account  of  Prince's  Island. 

Prince's  Island,  as  it  is  called  by  the  English,  in  Malay 
Pulo  Selan,  and  in  the  language  of  the  inhabitants  Pulo 
Paneitan,  is  a  small  island  situated  at  the  western  entrance 
to  the  straits  of  Sunda.  It  is  woody  and  has  no  remarkable 
hill  upon  it,  though  the  English  call  the  small  one  which  is 
just  over  the  anchoring  place  the  Pike.  This  island  was 
formerly  much  frequented  by  India  ships  of  many  nations, 
but  especially  English,  who  have  of  late  forsaken  it,  on 
account,  it  is  said,  of  the  badness  of  its  water,  and  stop 
either  at  North  Island,  a  small  island  on  the  Sumatra  coast 
outside  the  east  entrance  of  the  straits,  or  at  New  Bay,  a 
few  leagues  only  from  Prince's  Island,  at  neither  of  which 
places,  however,  can  any  quantity  of  refreshments  be  procured. 

Its  chief  produce  is  water,  which  is  so  situated  that  if 
you  are  not  careful  in  taking  it  high  enough  up  the  brook, 
it  will  inevitably  be  brackish,  from  which  circumstance  alone 
I  believe  it  has  got  a  bad  name  with  almost  all  nations.  It 
also  produces  turtle,  of  which,  however,  its  supplies  are  not 
great ;  so  that  if  a  ship  comes  second  or  third  in  the  season 
she  must  be  contented  with  small  ones,  and  no  great  plenty  of 
them,  as  indeed  was  in  some  measure  our  case.  We  bought 
at  very  various  prices,  according  to  the  humour  of  the  people ; 


JAN.  1771      DESCRIPTION  OF  PRINCE'S  ISLAND  421 

but,  altogether,  I  believe,  they  came  to  about  a  halfpenny  or 
three  farthings  a  pound.  They  were  of  the  green  kind,  but 
not  fat  nor  well  flavoured  in  any  degree,  as  they  are  in  most 
other  parts.  This  I  believe  is  in  great  measure  owing  to  the 
people  keeping  them,  sometimes  for  a  very  long  time,  in  crawls 
of  brackish  water,  where  they  have  no  kind  of  food  given  to 
them.  Fowls  are  tolerably  cheap,  a  dozen  large  ones  sold 
when  we  were  there  for  a  Spanish  dollar,  which  is  5d. 
apiece.  They  have  also  plenty  of  monkeys  and  small  deer 
(Moschus  pygmceus),  the  largest  of  which  are  not  quite  so  big 
as  a  new  fallen  lamb,  and  another  kind  of  deer,  called  by 
them  munchack,  about  the  size  of  a  sheep.  The  monkeys 
were  about  half  a  dollar  (2s.  6d.),  the  small  deer  2d. ;  the 
larger,  of  which  they  brought  down  only  two,  a  rupee,  or  2s. 
Fish  they  have  of  various  kinds,  and  we  always  found 
them  tolerably  cheap.  Vegetables  they  have  :  cocoanuts — 
a  dollar  for  100,  if  you  choose  them,  or  130  if  you  take 
them  as  they  come, — plantains  in  plenty,  some  water  melons, 
pine-apples,  jaccas  (jack  fruit),  pumpkins ;  also  rice,  chiefly  of 
the  mountain  sort  which  grows  on  dry  land,  yams,  and 
several  other  vegetables :  all  which  are  sold  reasonably  enough. 

The  inhabitants  are  Javans,  whose  Eadja  is  subject  to 
the  Sultan  of  Bantam,  from  whom  they  receive  orders,  and 
to  whom  they  possibly  pay  a  tribute,  but  of  that  I  am  not 
certain.  Their  customs,  I  believe,  are  very  much  like  those 
of  the  Indians  about  Batavia,  only  they  seem  much  more 
jealous  of  their  women,  so  much  so  that  I  never  saw  one 
during  the  whole  time  of  our  stay,  unless  she  was  running  away 
at  full  speed  to  hide  herself  in  the  woods.  Their  religion  is 
Mahometanism,  but  I  believe  they  have  not  a  mosque  upon 
the  island  :  they  were,  however,  very  strict  in  the  observance 
of  their  fast  (the  same  as  the  Ramadan  of  the  Turks),  during 
which  we  happened  to  come.  Not  one  would  touch  victuals 
until  sunset,  or  even  chew  their  betel ;  but  half  an  hour 
before  that  time  all  went  home  to  cook  the  kettle,  nor  would 
they  stay  for  any  time  but  in  the  hope  of  extraordinary  profit. 

The  food  was  nearly  the  same  as  the  Batavian  Indians, 
adding  only  to  it  the  nuts  of  the  palm  Cycas  circinalis,  with 


422  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE      CH.  xvm 

which  on  the  coast  of  JSTew  Holland  some  of  our  people 
were  made  ill,  and  some  of  our  hogs  poisoned  outright. 
Their  method  of  preparing  them  to  get  rid  of  their  deleterious 
qualities  they  told  me  were,  first  to  cut  the  nuts  into  thin 
slices  and  dry  them  in  the  sun,  then  to  steep  them  in  fresh 
water  for  three  months,  afterwards  pressing  the  water  from 
them,  and  drying  them  in  the  sun  once  more.  They,  how- 
ever, were  so  far  from  being  a  delicious  food  that  they 
never  used  them  but  in  times  of  scarcity,  when  they  mixed 
the  preparation  with  their  rice. 

Their  town,  which  they  called  Samadang,  consisted  of 
about  400  houses;  great  part  of  the  old  town,  however, 
was  in  ruins.  Their  houses  were  all^built  upon  pillars  four 
or  five  feet  above  the  ground.  The  plan  of  that  of  Gundang, 
a  man  who  seemed  to  be  next  in  riches  and  influence  to  the 
king,  will  give  an  idea  of  them  all.  It  was  walled  with 
boards,  a  luxury  which  none  but  the  king  and  he  himself 
had,  but  in  no  other  respect  differed  from  those  of  the 
middling  people  except  in  being  a  little  larger.  The  walls 
were  made  of  bamboo,  platted  on  small 
perpendicular  sticks  fastened  to  the 
beams.  The  floors  were  also  of 
bamboo,  each  stick,  however,  laid  at 
a  small  distance  from  the  next ;  so 
that  the  air  had  a  free  passage  from 
the  vtetuSs  areepcooked*e/!  below,  by  which  means  these  houses 

where   strangers  or  visitors     were     always     COOl.        The     thatch,     of 

palm  leaves,  was  always  thick  and 

strong,  so  that  neither  rain  nor  sunbeams  could  find  entrance 
through  it.  When  we  were  at  the  town  there  were  very 
few  inhabitants  there :  the  rest  lived  in  occasional  houses 
built  in  the  rice-fields,  where  they  watched  the  crop  to 
prevent  the  devastations  of  monkeys,  birds,  etc.  These 
occasional  houses  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  town;  the 
posts  which  support  them  also,  instead  of  being  four  or  five 
feet  in  height,  are  eight  or  ten :  otherwise  the  divisions,  etc., 
are  exactly  the  same. 

Their  dispositions,  as  far  as  we  saw  them,  were  very 


JAN.  1771   PRINCE'S  ISLAND  :  TOWN  AND  LANGUAGE  423 


good ;  at  least  they  dealt  very  fairly  with  us  upon  all 
occasions,  Indian-like,  however,  always  asking  double  what 
they  would  take  for  whatever  they  had  to  dispose  of.  But 
this  produced  no  inconvenience  to  us,  who  were  used  to 
this  kind  of  traffic.  In  making  bargains  they  were  very 
handy,  and  supplied  the  want  of  small  money  reasonably 
well  by  laying  together  a  quantity  of  anything,  and  when 
the  price  was  settled  dividing  it  among  each  other  according 
to  the  proportion  each  had  brought  to  the  general  stock. 
They  would  sometimes  change  our  money,  giving  240  doits 
for  a  Spanish  dollar,  that  is  5s.  sterling,  and  92,  that  is 
2s.  sterling,  for  a  Bengal  rupee.  The  money  they  chose, 
however,  was  doits  in  all  small  bargains;  dubblecheys  they 
had,  but  were  very  nice  in  taking  them. 

Their  language  is  different  both  from  the  Malay  and 
Javan :  they  all,  however,  speak  Malay. 


Prince's  Island. 

Java. 

Malay. 

English. 

Jalma 

Oong  Lanang 

Oran  Lacki  Lacki 

A  man 

Becang 
Oroculatacke 

Oong  Wadong 
Lari 

Parampuan 
Anack 

A  woman 
A  child 

Holo 

Undass 

Capalla 

The  head 

Erung 

Erung 

Edung 

The  nose 

Mata 

Moto 

Mata 

The  eyes 

Chole 

Cuping 

Cuping 

The  ears 

Cutock 

Untu 

Ghigi 

The  teeth 

Beatung 
Pimping 
Hullootoor 

Wuttong 
Poopoo 
Duncul 

Prot 
Paha 
Loutour 

The  belly 
The  thigh 
The  knee 

Metis 

Sickil 

Kauki 

The  leg 

Cucu 

Cucu 

Cucu 

A  nail 

Langan 

Tangan 

Tangan 

A  hand 

Ramo  Langan 

Jari 

Jaring 

A  finger 

These  specimens  of  languages,  so  near  each  other  in 
situation,  I  choose  to  give  together,  and  select  the  words 
without  any  previous  choice,  as  I  had  written  them  down, 
that  the  similar  and  dissimilar  words  might  equally  be  seen. 
As  for  the  parts  of  the  body  which  I  have  made  the  subject 
of  this  and  all  my  specimens  of  language,  I  chose  them  in 
preference  to  all  others,  as  the  names  of  them  are  easily  got 
from  people  of  whose  language  the  inquirer  has  not  the 


424  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE      CH.  xvm 

least  idea.  What  I  call  the  Javan  is  the  language  spoken 
at  Samarang,  a  day's  journey  from  the  seat  of  the  Emperor 
of  Java.  I  have  been  told  that  there  are  several  other 
languages  upon  the  island,  but  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
collecting  words  of  any  of  these,  as  I  met  with  no  one  who 
could  speak  them. 

The  Prince's  Islanders  call  their  language  Gotta  Gunung, 
that  is,  the  mountain  language,  and  say  that  it  is  spoken  upon 
the  mountains  of  Java,  from  whence  their  tribe  originally 
came,  first  to  New  Bay,  only  a  few  leagues  off,  and  from 
thence  to  Prince's  Island,  driven  there  by  the  quantity  of 
tigers. 

The  Malay,  Javan,  and  Prince's  Island  languages  all  have 
words  in  them,  either  exactly  like,  or  else  plainly  deriving 
their  origin  from  the  same  source  with  others  in  the  language 
of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  This  is  particularly  visible  in 
their  numbers,  from  whence  one  would  at  first  be  inclined 
to  suppose  that  their  learning,  at  least,  had  been  derived 
originally  from  one  and  the  same  source.  But  how  that 
strange  problem  of  the  numbers  of  the  black  inhabitants  of 
Madagascar  being  vastly  similar  to  those  of  Otahite  could 
have  come  to  pass,  surpasses,  I  confess,  my  skill  to  con- 
jecture. The  numbers  that  I  give  below  in  the  com- 
parative table  I  had  from  a  negro  slave,  born  at  Madagascar, 
who  was  at  Batavia  with  an  English  ship,  from  whence  he 
was  sent  for  merely  to  satisfy  my  curiosity  in  the  language. 

That  there  are  much  fewer  words  in  the  Prince's  Island 
language  similar  to  South  Sea  words,  is  owing  in  great 
measure  to  my  not  having  taken  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
words  upon  the  spot  to  compare  with  them. 

The  Madagascar  language  has  also  some  words  similar 
to  Malay  words,  oiiron,  the  nose,  in  Malay,  erung  ;  lala,  the 
tongue,  lida ;  tang,  the  hand,  tangan ;  taan,  the  ground, 
tanna. 

From  this  similitude  of  language  between  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Eastern  Indies  and  the  islands  in  the  South  Sea,  I 
should  have  ventured  to  conjecture  much  did  not  Madagascar 
interfere :  and  how  any  communication  can  ever  have  been 


JAN.    1771 


SIMILARITY  OF  LANGUAGES 


425 


SPECIMENS  OF  LANGUAGES 


South  Sea. 

Malay. 

Java. 

Prince's  Island. 

English. 

Matta 

Mata 

Moto 

Mata 

An  eye 

Maa 

Macan 

Mangan 

To  eat 

Inoo 

Menum 

Gnumbe 

To  drink 

Matte 

Matte 

Matte 

>f 

To  kill 

Outou 

Coutou 

... 

A  louse 

Euwa 

Udian 

Ud'an 

Rain 

Owhe 

... 

... 

Awe 

Bamboo  cane 

Ooma 

Sousou 

Sousou 

... 

A  breast 

Mannu 

Mannu 

Mannuk 

A  bird 

Eyea 

lean 

Iwa 

A  fish 

Uta 

Utan 

... 

Inland 

Tapao 

Tapaan 

The  foot 

Tooura 

Udang 

Urang 

A  lobster 

Eufwhe 

Ubi 

Uwe 

... 

Yams 

Etannou 

Tannam 

Tandour 

To  bury 

Enammou 

Gnammuck 

... 

A  muscheto 

Hearu 

Garru 

Garu 

To  scratch 

Taro 

Talks 

Talas 

Cocos  roots 

Outou 

Surgoot 

The  mouth 

Eto 

... 

Tao 

Sugar-cane 

South  Sea. 

Malay. 

Java. 

Prince's  Island. 

Madagascar. 

1. 

Table 

Satou 

Sigi 

Hegie 

Issa 

2. 

Rua 

Dua 

Lorou 

Dua 

Rove 

3. 

Torou 

Tiga 

Tullu 

Tollu 

Tello 

4. 

Haa 

Ampat 

Pappat 

Opat 

Effat 

5. 

Ruma 

Lima 

Limo 

Limath 

Limi 

*6. 

Whene 

Annam 

Nunnam 

Gunnap 

Enning 

7. 

Hetu 

Tudju 

Petu 

Tudju 

Fruto 

8. 
9. 

Waru 
Heva 

Delapan 
Sembilan 

Wolo 

Songo 

Delapan 
Salapan 

Wedo 
Sidai 

10. 

Ahourou 

Sapoulou 

Sapoulou 

Sapoulou 

Scula 

11. 

Matahie 

Sabilas 

Suvalas 

12. 

Marua 

Dubilas 

Roalas 

... 

20. 

Tahie  taou 

Duapoulou 

Rompoulon 

100. 

Rima  taou 

Saratus 

Satus 

Satus 

200. 

Mannu 

Duaratus 

Rongatus 

... 

1000. 

Lima  mannu 

Sereboo 

Seavo 

Seavo 

2000. 

Mannu  tine 

... 

... 

N.B.— In  the  island  of  Ulhietea  6  is  called  ono.    [Note  by  Banks.] 


426  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE      CH.  xvm 

carried  between  Madagascar  and  Java  to  make  the  brown, 
long-haired  people  of  the  latter  speak  a  language  similar  to 
that  of  the  black,  woolly-headed  natives  of  the  other,  is,  I 
confess,  far  beyond  my  comprehension :  unless  the  Egyptian 
learning  running  in  two  courses,  one  through  Africa,  the 
other  through  Asia,  might  introduce  the  same  words,  and, 
what  is  still  more  probable,  numerical  terms  into  the 
languages  of  people  who  never  had  communicated  with  each 
other.  But  this  point,  requiring  a  depth  of  knowledge  of 
antiquities,  I  must  leave  to  antiquarians  to  discuss. 

14th  January.  Weighed;  our  breeze,  though  favourable, 
was,  however,  so  slack,  that  by  night  we  had  got  no  further 
than  abreast  of  the  town,  where  we  anchored. 

20th.  Myself,  who  had  begun  with  the  bark  yesterday, 
missed  my  fever  to-day ;  the  people,  however,  in  general  grew 
worse,  and  many  had  now  the  dysentery  or  bloody  flux. 

22nd.  Almost  all  the  ship's  company  were  now  ill,  either 
with  fluxes  or  severe  purgings ;  myself  far  from  well,  Mr. 
Sporing  very  ill,  and  Mr.  Parkinson  very  little  better :  his 
complaint  was  a  slow  fever. 

23rd.  Myself  was  too  ill  to-day  to  do  anything — one  of 
our  people  died  of  the  flux  in  the  evening. 

24th.  My  distemper  this  day  turned  out  to  be  a  flux, 
attended  (as  that  disease  always  is)  with  excruciating  pains 
in  my  bowels,  on  which  I  took  to  my  bed :  in  the  evening 
Mr.  Sporing  died. 

25th.  One  more  of  the  people  died  to-day.  Myself 
endured  the  pain  of  the  damned  almost.  The  surgeon  of 
the  ship  thought  proper  to  order  me  the  hot  bath,  into 
which  I  went  four  times  at  the  intervals  of  two  hours  and 
felt  great  relief. 

26th.  Though  better  than  yesterday  my  pains  were 
still  almost  intolerable.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Parkinson 
died,  and  one  more  of  the  ship's  crew. 

2Sth.  This  day  Mr.  Green,  our  astronomer,  and  two  of 
the  people  died,  all  of  the  very  same  complaint  as  I 
laboured  under,  no  very  encouraging  circumstance. 


FEB.  1771  DEATHS  AT  SEA  427 

29th.  Three  more  of  the  people  died  this  day. 

30th.  For  the  first  time  I  found  myself  better  and  slept 
some  time,  which  my  continual  pains  had  never  suffered  me 
to  do  before  notwithstanding  the  opiates  which  were  con- 
stantly administered.  One  person  only  died  to-day,  but  so 
weak  were  the  people  in  general  that,  officers  and  men 
included,  there  were  not  more  than  eight  or  nine  could  keep 
the  deck ;  so  that  four  in  a  watch  were  all  they  had. 

31st.  This  day  I  got  out  of  my  bed  in  good  spirits  and 
free  from  pain,  but  very  weak ;  my  recovery  had  been  as 
rapid  as  my  disease  was  violent ;  but  to  what  cause  to  attri- 
bute either  the  one  or  the  other  we  were  equally  at  a  loss. 
The  wind,  which  went  to  E.  and  S.E.  yesterday,  blew  to-day 
in  the  same  direction,  so  we  had  little  reason  to  doubt  its 
being  the  true  trade,  a  circumstance  which  raised  the  spirits 
of  even  those  who  were  most  afflicted  with  the  tormenting 
disease  which  now  raged  with  its  greatest  violence. 

1st  February.  Fine  brisk  trade  kept  up  our  spirits  and 
helped  to  raise  me  fast :  two  of  the  people  died  to-day, 
nevertheless. 

2nd.  Breeze  continued  to-day:  the  surgeon  began  to 
think  that  the  rapid  progress  of  the  disease  was  checked  by 
it,  but  declared  at  the  same  time  that  several  people  were 
still  almost  without  hopes  of  recovery. 

3rd.  Some  of  the  people  who  were  least  affected  began 
now  to  show  signs  of  amendment,  but  two  of  the  worst 
died  notwithstanding. 

6th.  One  more  died  to-day.  Those  of  our  people  who 
were  not  very  bad  before  the  1st  of  this  month  had  now 
almost  universally  recovered ;  but  there  were  still  several  in 
the  ship  who  at  that  time  were  very  bad.  These  remained 
unalterably  the  same,  neither  becoming  better  nor  worse. 
Throughout  the  whole  course  of  this  distemper  medicine  has 
been  of  little  use,  the  sick  generally  proceeding  gradually  to 
their  end  without  a  favourable  symptom,  till  the  change  of 
weather  instantaneously  stopped  in  a  manner  the  malignant 
quality  of  the  disease. 

llth.  One  more  of  our  people  died. 


428  BATAVIA  TO  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE      CH.  xvm 


Another  died. 

14th.  A  third  died  to-day  :  neither  of  these  people  had 
grown  either  better  or  worse  for  many  days. 

20th.  Lost  another  man. 

26th.  Lost  three  more  people  to-day. 

3rd  March.  In  the  evening  some  of  the  people  thought 
they  saw  land,  but  that  opinion  was  rejected  almost  without 
examination,  as  by  the  journals  which  had  been  kept  by  the 
log,  we  were  still  above  a  hundred  leagues  from  land,  and  by 
observations  of  sun  and  moon,  full  40.  The  night  was  chiefly 
calms  and  light  breezes,  with  fog  and  mist. 

4th.  Day  broke  and  showed  us  at  its  earliest  dawn  how 
fortunate  we  had  been  in  the  calms  of  last  night.  What 
was  then  supposed  to  be  land  proved  really  so,  and  not 
more  than  five  miles  from  us,  so  that  another  hour  would 
have  infallibly  have  carried  us  upon  it.  But  fortunate 
as  we  might  think  ourselves  to  be  yet  unshipwrecked, 
we  were  still  in  extreme  danger.  The  wind  blew  right 
upon  the  shore  and  with  it  ran  a  heavy  sea,  breaking 
mountains  high  upon  the  rocks,  with  which  it  was  every- 
where lined,  so  that,  though  some  in  the  ship  thought 
it  possible,  the  major  part  did  not  hope  to  be  able  to  get  off. 
Our  anchors  and  cables  were  accordingly  prepared,  but  the 
sea  ran  too  high  to  allow  us  a  hope  of  the  cables  holding 
should  we  be  driven  to  the  necessity  of  using  them,  and 
should  we  be  driven  ashore  the  breakers  gave  us  little  hope 
of  saving  even  our  lives.  At  last,  however,  after  four  hours 
spent  in  the  vicissitudes  of  hope  and  fear,  we  found  that  we 
got  gradually  off,  and  before  night  we  were  out  of  danger. 
The  land  from  whence  we  so  narrowly  escaped  is  part  of 
Terra  de  Natal,  lying  between  the  rivers  Sangue  and 
Fourmis,  about  twenty  leagues  to  the  southward  of  the  Bay 
of  Natal. 

*lth.  For  these  some  days  past  the  seamen  have  found 
the  ship  to  be  driven  hither  and  thither  by  currents1  in  a 
manner  totally  unaccountable  to  them. 

The  surface  of  the  water  was  pretty  thickly  strewed  with 

1  The  Agulhas  currents. 


MAR.  1771     ARRIVAL  AT  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE  429 

the  substance  that  I  have  before  often  mentioned  under  the 
name  of  sea-sawdust ;  the  water  likewise  emitted  a  strong 
smell  like  that  of  sea-weeds  rotting  on  the  shore. 

1 2th.  In  the  morning  saw  Cape  False,1  and  soon  after  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  off  which  we  observed  a  rock  not  laid 
down  in  the  charts.  The  breeze  was  fresh  and  fair;  it 
carried  us  as  far  as  Table  Bay,  off  which  we  anchored.  In 
coming  along  shore  we  saw  several  smokes  upon  the  next 
hill  before  the  Lion's  rump,  and  when  at  anchor  fires  upon 
the  side  and  near  the  top  of  the  Table  Mountain.  In  the 
bay  were  several  ships,  four  French,  two  Danes,  one 
English,  viz.  the  Admiral  Pocock,  Indiaman,  and  several 
Dutch. 

13th.  Wind  so  fresh  at  S.E.  that  we  could  not  attempt  to 
go  ashore ;  no  boat,  indeed,  in  the  whole  harbour  attempted 
to  stir;  the  Dutch  Commodore  hauled  down  his  broad 
pennant,  a  signal  for  all  boats  belonging  to  him  to  keep  on 
board.  Jno.  Thomas  died. 

14:th.  The  ship  was  got  under  way  and  steered  into  the 
harbour  to  her  proper  berth.  A  Dutch  boat  came  on  board 
to  know  from  whence  we  came,  and  brought  with  her  a 
surgeon,  who  examined  our  sick,  and  gave  leave  for  them 
and  us  to  come  ashore,  which  we  accordingly  did  at  dinner- 
time. 

1*7  th.  Dr.  Solander,  who  had  been  on  board  the  Indiaman 
last  night,  was  taken  violently  ill  with  a  fever  and  a  pain 
in  his  bowels.  A  country  physician  was  immediately  sent 
for,  who  declared  on  hearing  his  case  that  it  was  the  common 
consequence  of  Batavian  fevers,  that  the  Doctor  would  be 
much  worse,  and  would  for  some  time  suffer  very  much  by  his 
bowel  complaint,  but  upon  the  whole  he  declared  that  there 
was  no  danger.  I  could  not,  however,  help  being  a  good  deal 
alarmed  in  my  own  opinion. 

31st.  Dr.  Solander,  after  having  been  confined  to  his  bed 
or  chamber  ever  since  the  17th  of  this  month,  this  day 
came  downstairs  for  the  first  time,  very  much  emaciated  by 
his  tedious  illness. 

1  This  appears  to  have  been  Cape  Agulhas. 


430  BATAVIA  TO   CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE      CH.  xvm 

3rd  April.  Theodosio1  ...  a  seaman,  died  very  suddenly; 
he  had  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  state  of  good  health  during 
all  our  times  of  sickness. 

*Ith.  Of  the  four  French  vessels  which  we  found  in  this 
harbour,  three  have  now  sailed,  and  the  fourth  is  ready  for 
sea,  two  were  64-gun  ships,  the  third  a  large  snow,  and  the 
fourth  a  frigate.  All  these  came  from  the  Isle  de  France 2 
for  provisions,  of  which  they  carry  away  hence  a  prodigious 
quantity,  and  consequently  must  have  many  mouths  to  feed. 
It  is  probable  they  meditate  some  stroke  from  this  island  at 
our  East  India  settlements  in  the  beginning  of  a  future  war, 
which,  however,  our  Indian  people  are  not  at  all  alarmed  at, 
trusting  entirely  to  the  vast  armies  which  they  constantly 
keep  up,  the  support  of  which  in  Bengal  alone  costs 
£840,000  a  year. 

Mr.  De  Bougainville,  pleased  with  the  beauty  of  the  ladies 
of  Otahite,  gave  that  island  the  name  of  Cypre.  On  his 
return  home  he  touched  at  Isle  de  France,  where  the  person 
who  went  out  with  him  in  the  character  of  natural  historian 
was  left,  and  still  remains.  Otourrou,  the  Indian,  whom  he 
brought  from  thence,  was  known  on  board  his  ship  by  the 
name  of  Tootavu,  a  plain  corruption  of  Bougainville,  with 
whom  it  may  be  supposed  he  meant  to  change  names 
according  to  his  custom.  This  man  is  now  at  Isle  de 
France,  from  whence  a  large  ship  is  very  soon  to  sail  and 
carry  him  back  to  his  own  country,  where  she  is  to  make  a 
settlement.  In  doing  this  she  must  necessarily  follow  the 
track  of  Abel  Jansen  Tasrnan,  and  consequently,  if  she  does 
not  discover  Cook's  Straits,  which  in  all  probability  she  will 
do,  must  make  several  discoveries  on  the  coast  of  New 
Zealand.  Thus  much  the  French  who  were  here  made  no 
secret  of.  How  necessary  then  will  it  be  for  us  to  publish 
an  account  of  our  voyage  as  soon  as  possible  after  our 
arrival,  if  we  mean  that  our  own  country  shall  have  the  honour 

1  This  is  clearly  Jeh.  Dozey,  A.B.,  who  is  stated,  in  the  "Introduction  "  to 
Wharton's  Cook  (p.  liii.),  to  have  died  on  April  7,  1771,  but  his  death  is  not 
alluded  to  in  Cook's  Journal. 

2  The  more  usual  name  now  is  Mauritius. 


APR.  1771  BOUGAINVILLE'S  VOYAGE  431 

of  our  discoveries.  Should  the  French  have  published  an 
account  of  Mr.  De  Bougainville's  voyage  before  that  of  the 
second  Dolphin?  how  infallibly  will  they  claim  the  discovery 
of  Cypre,  or  Otahite,  as  their  own,  and  treat  the  Dolphin's 
having  seen  it  as  a  fiction,  which  we  are  enabled  to  set  forth 
with  some  show  of  truth,  as  the  Endeavour  really  did  see  it, 
a  twelvemonth,  however,  after  Mr.  De  Bougainville.  If 
England  choose  to  assert  her  prior  claim  to  it,  as  she  may 
hereafter  do  if  the  French  settle,  it  may  be  productive  of 
very  disagreeable  consequences. 

1  i.e.  the  second  voyage  of  the  Dolphin,  under  Wallis  (q.v.  p.  li.)     No 
important  discoveries  were  made  on  the  Dolphin's  first  voyage  under  Byron. 


CHAPTEE    XIX 

CAPE    OF    GOOD    HOPE    TO    ENGLAND 

Account  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — Its  settlement  by  the  Dutch — Cape 
Town — Dutch  customs — Government — Climate — General  healthiness — 
Animals— Wines — Cost  of  living — Botanical  garden — Menagerie — Settle- 
ments in  the  interior — Barrenness  of  the  country — Hottentots  :  their 
appearance,  language,  dancing,  customs,  etc. —  Money  —  Leave  Table 
Bay  —  Robben  Island  —  St.  Helena — Volcanic  rocks  —  Cultivation — 
Provisions — Introduced  plants — Natural  productions — Ebony — Specula- 
tions as  to  how  plants  and  animals  originally  reached  so  remote  an 
island — Leave  St.  Helena — Ascension  Island — Ascension  to  England — 
Land  at  Deal. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  that  hydrographers  limit  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  to  a  single  point  of  land  on  the  S.W.  end  of 
Africa,  which  is  not  the  southernmost  part  of  that  immense 
continent,  I  shall  under  this  name  speak  of  the  southern 
parts  of  Africa  in  general,  as  far  as  latitude  30°  at  least. 
The  country  was  originally  inhabited  by  the  Hottentots 
alone,  but  is  now  settled  by  the  Dutch,  and  from  the 
convenience  of  its  situation  as  a  place  of  refreshment  for 
ships  sailing  to  and  from  India,  is  perhaps  visited  by 
Europeans  oftener  than  any  other  distant  part  of  the  globe. 

The  Dutch,  if  their  accounts  can  be  credited,  have 
also  people  much  farther  inland.  They  have  upon  the 
whole  of  this  vast  tract,  however,  only  one  town,  which 
is  generally  known  by  the  name  of  Cape  Town:  it  is 
situated  on  the  Atlantic  side  about  twenty  miles  to  the 
north  of  the  real  Cape,  on  the  banks  of  a  bay  sheltered 
from  the  S.E.  wind  by  a  large  mountain  level  at  the 
top,  from  whence  both  itself  and  the  bay  have  got  the 


APR.  1771  CAPE  TOWN  433 

name  of  Tafel  or  Table.  It  has  of  late  years  very  much 
increased  in  size,  and  consists  of  about  a  thousand  houses, 
neatly  built  of  brick,  and  in  general  whitened  over.  The 
streets  in  general  are  broad  and  commodious,  all  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles.  In  the  chief  of  them  is  a  canal, 
on  each  side  of  which  is  a  row  of  oak  trees,  which  nourish 
tolerably  well,  and  yield  an  agreeable  shade  to  walkers. 
Besides  this  there  is  another  canal  running  through  the  town, 
but  the  slope  of  the  ground  is  so  great  that  both  have  to  be 
furnished  with  sluices,  at  intervals  of  little  more  than  fifty 
yards. 

In  houses  the  same  poverty  of  inventions  exists  here  as 
at  Batavia.  They  are  almost  universally  built  upon  one 
and  the  same  plan,  whether  small  or  large.  In  general  they 
are  low,  and  universally  covered  with  thatch ;  precautions  said 
to  be  necessary  against  the  violence  of  the  S.E.  winds,  which 
at  some  seasons  of  the  year  came  down  from  the  Table 
Mountain  with  incredible  violence. 

Of  the  inhabitants,  a  far  larger  proportion  are  real  Dutch 
than  of  those  of  Batavia;  but  as  the  whole  town  is  in  a 
manner  supported  by  entertaining  and  supplying  strangers, 
each  man  in  some  degree  imitates  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  nation  with  which  he  is  chiefly  concerned.  The  ladies, 
however,  do  not  follow  their  husbands  in  this  particular,  but 
so  true  are  they  to  the  customs  of  the  fatherland,  that 
scarcely  one  of  them  will  stir  without  a  sooterkin  or  chauffette 
ready  to  place  under  her  feet,  whenever  she  shall  sit  down. 
The  younger  ones,  though,  do  not  in  general  put  any  fire  in 
them,  but  seem .  to  use  them  merely  for  show.  In  general 
they  are  handsome,  with  clear  skins  and  high  complexions, 
and  when  married  (no  reflections  upon  my  country-women) 
are  the  best  housekeepers  imaginable,  and  great  child- 
bearers.  Had  I  been  inclined  for  a  wife,  I  think  this  is  the 
place  of  all  others  I  have  seen,  where  I  could  have  best 
suited  myself. 

Their  servants  are  in  general  Malay  slaves,  who  are 
brought  here  from  Batavia;  to  these  they  behave  much 
better  than  the  Batavians,  in  consequence  of  which  these 

2  F 


434  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE  CHAP,  xix 

Malays  are  much  quieter,  honester,  and  more  diligent,  and 
less  wicked  than  in  that  place :  in  instance  of  which  I  need 
only  say  that  there  has  never  been  a  case  of  running  amoc 
here. 

The  town  is  governed  by  a  Governor  and  Council  who 
are  quite  independent  of  Batavia.  The  present  Governor  is 
Eyck  Tulback.  He  is  very  old,  and  has  long  enjoyed  his 
present  station  with  a  most  universal  good  character,  which 
is  easily  explained  in  this  manner :  he  is  unmarried,  and 
has  no  connections  which  may  make  him  wish  to  make 
more  money  than  his  salary  furnishes  him  with ;  conse- 
quently, not  entering  into  trade,  he  interferes  with  no  man, 
and  not  wishing  to  be  bribed,  does  strict  justice  on  all 
occasions  to  the  best  of  his  abilities. 

The  climate,  though  not  at  all  too  hot  for  those  who 
come  from  India,  would  doubtless  appear  sufficiently  warm 
could  any  one  be  transported  immediately  from  England  to 
this  place.  Upon  the  whole  it  seems  much  of  the 
temperature  as  the  island  of  Madeira,  though  scarcely  quite 
so  hot.  This  I  judge  from  the  productions.  In  general, 
during  the  whole  summer,  the  air  is  frequently  fanned  by 
S.E.  winds,  which  come  off  the  hills  above  the  town  with 
vast  violence,  and  during  the  time  of  their  blowing,  especi- 
ally at  first,  are  very  troublesome  to  such  as  are  obliged 
to  be  abroad  in  them,  by  raising  the  sand  with  which  the 
whole  country  abounds,  and  filling  their  eyes  with  it.  Nor 
are  the  houses  quite  free  from  its  effects ;  however  closely 
they  are  shut  up,  the  sand  will  find  an  entrance,  and  in 
a  short  time  cover  every  kind  of  furniture  with  a  thick 
dust. 

Inconvenient  as  this  certainly  is,  it,  however,  does  not 
seem  to  have  any  effect  beyond  the  present  moment,  though 
the  inhabitants  must  in  the  course  of  a  summer  inhale  an 
immense  quantity  of  this  sand,  which  has  been  thought  by 
some  physicians  to  be  productive  of  ulcers  in  the  lungs,  etc. 
etc.  Yet  consumptions  are  diseases  scarcely  known  here, 
and  the  healthy  countenances,  fresh  complexions,  and  above 
all,  the  number  of  children  with  which  all  ranks  of  people 


APR.  1771  CLIMATE— PROVISIONS  435 

here    are    blessed,   abundantly   prove    that   the   climate   in 
general  is  very  friendly  to  the  human  constitution. 

Diseases  brought  here  from  Europe  are  said  to  be  almost 
immediately  cured,  but  those  of  the  Indies  not  so  easily, 
which  latter  we  ourselves  experienced:  our  sick  recovering 
very  little  for  the  first  fortnight,  and  after  that  very  slowly, 
so  that  after  a  month's  stay  several  of  them  were  far  from 
recruited. 

The  industry  of  the  Dutch,  so  well  known,  and  so 
constantly  exerted  in  all  foreign  settlements,  has  supplied 
this  place  with  a  profusion  of  all  kinds  of  European 
provisions.  Wheat  and  barley  are  as  good  here  as  in 
Europe;  hops,  however,  will  not  grow,  so  that  they  cannot 
make  beer,  even  tolerably.  Cattle  are  in  great  plenty, 
and  beef  is  very  fair ;  sheep  likewise  are  in  great 
plenty.  Both  these  the  native  Hottentots  had  before  the 
Dutch  settled  the  place,  so  that  they  differ  a  little  in  ap- 
pearance from  those  of  other  places :  the  oxen  are  lighter, 
more  neatly  made,  and  have  vast  spreading  horns  ;  the  sheep, 
instead  of  wool,  are  covered  with  a  kind  of  substance 
between  hair  and  wool.  Their  tails  also  are  very  large  :  I  have 
seen  some  which  could  not  weigh  less  than  ten  or  twelve 
pounds,  and  was  told  that  they  are  often  much  larger.  Of 
the  milk  of  their  cows  they  make  very  good  butter,  but 
cheese  they  know  not  how  to  make  in  any  degree  of  perfec- 
tion. Besides  these  they  have  goats  in  plenty,  which,  how- 
ever, they  never  eat ;  and  hogs,  but  these  are  less  plentiful. 
Poultry,  as  fowls,  ducks,  geese,  etc.,  are  in  tolerable  plenty. 
They  have  also  wild  game,  as  hares  exactly  like  ours  in 
Europe,  partridges  of  two  kinds,  quails,  antelopes  of  many 
kinds,  and  bustards,  in  general  very  well  flavoured,  but  rather 
drier  than  those  of  the  same  kinds  in  Europe. 

As  their  fields  produce  European  wheat  and  barley,  so 
their  gardens  produce  the  same  kinds  of  vegetables  as  we 
have  in  Europe.  Cabbages,  turnips,  potatoes,  asparagus, 
broccoli,  etc.,  are  all  plentiful  and  excellent  of  their  kind. 
Their  fruits  are  also  the  same,  apples,  pears,  oranges,  peaches, 
apricots,  figs,  etc.  Of  Indian  fruits,  they  have  plantains, 


436  CAPE  OF   GOOD   HOPE  CHAP,  xix 

guavas,  and  j  ambus ;  but  neither  of  these  in  any  kind  of 
perfection.  Their  vineyards  produce  a  great  quantity  of 
wines,  which  they  class  into  many  sorts,  calling  one  Madeira, 
another  Frontinac,  etc.  None  of  these  are  comparable  to 
the  wines  which  we  commonly  drink  in  Europe,  yet  they 
are  all  light,  well  cured,  and  far  from  unpalatable ;  in  taste 
not  unlike  some  of  the  light  French  and  Portuguese  white 
wines.  The  famous  Constantia,  so  well  known  in  Europe, 
is  made  genuine  only  at  one  vineyard  about  ten  miles  distant 
from  Cape  Town.  Near  that,  however,  is  another  vineyard, 
which  is  likewise  called  Constantia,  where  a  wine  not  much 
inferior  to  it  is  made,  which  is  always  to  be  had  at  a 
lower  price. 

The  common  method  of  living  is  to  lodge  and  board  with 
some  one  of  the  inhabitants,  many  of  whose  houses  are 
always  open  for  the  reception  of  strangers.  The  prices  are 
5,  4,  3,  and  2  shillings  a  day,  for  which  all  necessaries  are 
found  you,  according  as  your  situation  leads  you  to  choose  a 
more  or  less  expensive  method  of  living,  in  what  may  truly 
be  called  profusion  in  proportion  to  the  price  you  give. 
Besides  this  there  is  hardly  an  expense  in  the  place.  Coaches 
are  seldom  or  never  used,  but  may  be  hired  at  the  rate  of  6 
rix-dollars  or  £1  :  4s.  a  day.  Horses  are  6s.  a  day,  but  the 
country  is  not  tempting  enough  to  induce  any  one  often  to 
make  use  of  them.  Public  entertainments  there  are  none, 
nor  were  there  any  private  ones  owing  to  the  measles,  which 
broke  out  about  the  time  of  our  arrival :  at  other  times  I 
was  told  there  were,  and  that  strangers  were  always  welcome 
to  them  if  of  any  rank. 

At  the  farther  end  of  the  High  Street  is  the  Company's 
garden,  which  is  nearly  two-thirds  of  an  English  mile  in 
length.  The  whole  is  divided  by  walks,  intersecting  each 
other  at  right  angles,  and  planted  with  oaks,  which  are  clipped 
into  wall  hedges,  except  in  the  centre  walk,  where  they  are 
suffered  to  grow  to  their  full  size.  This  walk,  therefore,  at 
all  times  of  the  day  furnishes  an  agreeable  shade,  no  doubt 
highly  beneficial  to  the  sick,  as  the  country  has  not  the 
least  degree  of  shade,  nor  has  nature  made  the  soil  capable 


APR.  1771     BOTANIC  AND  ZOOLOGICAL  GARDEN  437 

of  producing  a  single  tree,  at  least  within  several  miles 
round  the  town.  By  far  the  largest  part  of  this  garden 
is  utilised  for  producing  cabbages,  carrots,  etc. ;  two  small 
squares,  however,  are  set  apart  for  botanical  plants,  which 
are  well  taken  care  of  and  neatly  kept.  At  the  time  we 
were  there  the  greater  part  of  the  plants,  as  the  annuals, 
bulbs,  etc.,  were  underground.  Upon  the  whole,  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  number  now  to  be  found  there  will  not 
amount  to  above  half  of  what  they  were  when  Oldenland 
wrote  his  Catalogue ;  indeed,  at  that  time  it  is  possible  that 
more  ground  was  employed  for  the  purpose. 

At  the  farther  end  of  the  garden  is  a  vivarium  or  menagerie, 
supported  also  at  the  expense  of  the  Company,  where  rare 
beasts  and  birds  are  kept.  Here  were  ostriches,  cassowaries, 
antelopes  of  several  kinds,  zebras  and  several  other  animals 
seldom  or  never  seen  in  Europe ;  particularly  that  called  by 
the  Hottentots  coedoe,  whose  beautiful  spiral  horns  are  often 
brought  over  to  Europe.  This  animal,  which  was  as  large 
as  a  horse,  died  while  we  were  there,  but  not  before  I  had 
time  to  get  a  description  and  drawing  of  him. 

Near  this  enclosure  is  another  for  birds,  in  which  were 
the  crowned  pigeons  of  Banda,  and  several  more  rare  birds, 
especially  of  the  Dutch  kind,  of  which  there  was  indeed 
a  very  fine  collection.  Both  birds  and  beasts  were  very 
carefully  and  well  taken  care  of. 

It  remains  now,  after  having  described  the  town  and  its 
environs,  to  say  a  little  of  the  country  about  it.  Of  this, 
indeed,  I  can  say  but  little,  and  even  for  that  little  am 
obliged  to  depend  entirely  upon  hearsay,  not  having  had  an 
opportunity  of  making  even  one  excursion,  owing  in  great 
measure  to  Dr.  Solander's  illness. 

The  Dutch  say  that  they  have  settled  the  country  as  far 
as  2000  miles  inland,  at  least  that  is  the  distance  to  the 
furthest  habitations  of  Europeans :  how  far  it  may  be,  how- 
ever, in  a  straight  line  north  and  south,  is  hard  to  say,  nor 
do  they  pretend  to  guess.  Supposing  it,  however,  the  shortest 
distance  possible,  it  is  sufficient  to  prove  the  infinite,  and 
indeed  to  a  European  almost  inconceivable,  barrenness  of 


438  CAPE  OF   GOOD   HOPE  CHAP,  xix 

the  country  in  general,  that  the  mere  supply  of  food  should 
make  it  necessary  for  men  to  spread  themselves  over  such 
an  immense  tract  of  country,  in  order  to  find  fertile  spots 
capable  of  producing  it.  How  far  distant  such  spots  are 
from  each  other  may  be  concluded  from  what  one  farmer 
told  us  while  there.  On  being  asked  why  he  brought  his 
young  children  with  him  to  the  Cape,  from  whence  he  lived 
fifteen  days'  journey,  and  told  that  he  had  better  have  left 
them  with  his  next  neighbour :  "  neighbour,"  said  he,  "  my 
nearest  neighbour  lives  five  days'  journey  from  me." 

Nor  does  the  country  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  Cape  give  any  reason  to  contradict  the  idea  of  immense 
barrenness  which  must  be  formed  from  what  I  have  said. 
The  country  in  general  is  either  bare  rock,  shifting  sand,  or 
grounds  covered  with  heath,  etc.,  like  the  moors  of  Derby- 
shire and  Yorkshire,  except  the  very  banks  of  the  few 
rivulets,  where  are  a  few  plantations  chiefly  utilised,  if  well 
sheltered,  for  raising  garden  stuff,  and  if  rather  less  sheltered 
as  vineyards ;  but  if  exposed  nothing  can  stand  the  violence 
of  the  wind,  which  blows  here  through  the  whole  summer 
or  dry  season.  During  my  whole  stay  I  did  not  see  a  tree 
in  its  native  soil  as  tall  as  myself;  indeed  housekeepers 
complain  of  the  dearness  of  firewood,  as  almost  equal  to  that 
of  provisions,  nothing  being  burnt  here  but  roots,  which  must 
be  dug  out  of  the  ground.  What,  indeed,  proves  the  influence 
of  the  wind  in  prejudice  to  vegetation  is  that  a  stem  not 
thicker  than  my  thumb  (and  thicker  they  never  are)  will 
have  a  root  as  thick  as  my  arm  or  leg. 

As  their  distant  settlements  are  directly  inland,  and  the 
whole  coast  either  is,  or  is  thought  to  be,  totally  destitute  of 
harbours,  their  whole  communication  is  carried  on  by  land 
carriage.  Waggons  drawn  by  oxen  are  employed  in  that 
service:  they  are,  however,  very  light,  and  the  cattle  so 
much  more  nimble  than  ours  in  Europe,  that  they  assured 
us  that  they  sometimes  travelled  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles 
an  hour.  Travelling  is  also  very  cheap.  As  there  are  no 
inns  upon  the  roads,  every  one  must  carry  his  own  provisions 
with  him,  and  the  oxen  must  live  upon  the  heath  or  ling 


APR.  1771  HOTTENTOTS  439 

which  they  meet  with  upon  the  road.  Great  as  these 
conveniences  are,  the  people  who  come  from  afar  must  do 
little  more  than  live,  as  there  is  no  trade  here,  but  in  a  few 
articles  of  provisions,  which  are  sent  to  the  East  Indies,  and 
curiosities.  They  can  bring  nothing  to  market  but  a  little 
butter,  such  skins  of  wild  beasts  as  they  have  been  able  to 
procure,  and  perhaps  a  few  kinds  of  drugs. 

There  remains  nothing  but  to  say  a  word  or  two  con- 
cerning the  Hottentots,  so  frequently  spoken  of  by  travellers, 
by  whom  they  are  generally  represented  as  the  outcast  of 
the  human  species,  a  race  whose  intellectual  faculties  are  so 
little  superior  to  those  of  beasts,  that  some  have  been 
inclined  to  suppose  them  more  nearly  related  to  baboons 
than  to  men. 

Although  I  very  much  desired  it,  I  was  unable  to  see 
any  of  their  habitations,  there  being  none,  as  I  was 
universally  informed,  within  less  than  four  days'  journey 
from  the  Cape,  in  which  they  retained  their  original  customs. 
Those  who  come  to  the  Cape,  who  are  in  number  not  a  few, 
are  all  servants  of  the  Dutch  farmers,  whose  cattle  they 
take  care  of,  and  generally  run  before  their  waggons :  these 
no  doubt  are  the  lowest  and  meanest  of  them,  and  these 
alone  I  can  describe. 

They  were  in  general  slim  in  make,  and  rather  lean 
than  at  all  plump  or  fat :  in  size  equal  to  Europeans, 
some  six  feet  and  more ;  their  eyes  not  expressive  of  any 
liveliness,  but  rather  dull  and  unmeaning;  the  colour  of 
their  skins  nearest  to  that  of  soot,  owing  in  great  measure  to 
the  dirt,  which,  by  long  use,  was  ingrained  into  it,  for  I 
believe  that  they  never  wash  themselves.  Their  hair  curled 
in  very  fine  rings  like  that  of  negroes,  or  a  Persian  lamb's 
skin,  but  hung  in  falling  ringlets  seven  or  eight  inches 
long.  Their  clothes  consisted  of  a  skin,  generally  of  a  sheep, 
and  round  their  waists  a  belt,  which  in  both  sexes  was 
richly  ornamented  with  beads  and  small  pieces  of  copper. 
Both  sexes  wore  necklaces,  and  sometimes  bracelets,  likewise 
of  beads,  and  the  women  had  round  their  legs  certain  rings 
made  of  very  hard  leather,  which  they  said  served  to  defend 


440  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE  CHAP,  xix 

them  from  the  thorns  with  which  the  country  everywhere 
abounds.  Under  their  feet  some  wore  a  kind  of  sandal  of 
wood  or  bark,  but  the  greater  number  went  entirely  unshod. 
For  bodily  qualifications  they  were  strong,  and  appeared 
nimble  and  active  in  a  high  degree. 

Their  language,  which  appears  to  a  European  but  in- 
distinctly articulated,  has  this  remarkable  singularity,  that  in 
pronouncing  a  sentence  they  click  or  cluck  with  their 
tongues  at  very  frequent  intervals,  so  much  so  that  these 
clicks  do  not  seem  to  have  any  particular  meaning,  except 
possibly  to  divide  words,  or  certain  combinations  of  words. 
How  this  can  be  effected,  unless  they  can  click  with  their 
tongues  without  inspiring  their  breath,  appears  mysterious 
to  a  European :  and  yet  I  am  told  that  many  of  the  Dutch 
farmers  understand  and  speak  their  language  very  fluently. 
Almost  all  the  natives,  however,  speak  Dutch,  which  they  do 
without  clicking  their  tongues,  or  any  peculiarity  whatever. 

In  general  they  have  more  false  shame  (mauvaise  honte) 
than  any  people  I  have  seen,  which  I  have  often  had  occasion 
to  experience  when  I  have  with  the  greatest  difficulty  per- 
suaded them  to  dance  or  even  to  speak  to  each  other  in 
their  own  language  in  my  presence.  Their  songs  and  dances 
are  in  extremes ;  some  tolerably  active,  consisting  of  quick 
music  and  brisk  motions,  generally  of  distortions  of  the 
body  with  unnatural  leaps,  crossing  the  legs  backwards 
and  forwards,  etc. ;  others  again  as  dull  and  spiritless 
as  can  be  imagined.  One  dance  consists  entirely  of  beating 
the  earth  first  with  one  foot  and  then  with  the  other,  with- 
out moving  their  place  at  all,  to  the  cadence  of  a  tune 
furnished  with  little  more  variety  than  the  dance. 

Smoking  is  a  custom  most  generally  used  among  them, 
in  doing  which  they  do  not,  as  the  Europeans  do,  admit  the 
smoke  no  farther  than  their  mouths,  but  like  the  Chinese 
suck  it  into  their  lungs,  where  they  keep  it  for  nearly  a 
minute  before  they  emit  it.  They  commonly  mix  with 
their  tobacco  the  leaves  of  hemp,  which  they  cultivate  for 
that  purpose,  or  Phlomis  leonurus,  which  they  call  dacha. 
Their  food  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  farmers,  chiefly  bread 


APR.  1771     HOTTENTOT  HABITS  AND  CUSTOMS  441 

and  coarse  cheese  ;  but  they  are  immensely  fond  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  will  never  fail  to  get  drunk  with  them  if  they 
have  an  opportunity. 

This  little,  and  no  more,  of  the  customs  of  this  much- 
spoken-of  people  I  had  myself  an  opportunity  of  seeing :  from 
the  Dutch  I  heard  much,  and  select  the  following  from  their 
accounts : — 

Within  the  boundaries  of  the  Dutch  settlements  are 
many  different  nations  of  Hottentots,  differing  from  each 
other  in  custom  very  materially.  Some  are  far  superior  to 
others  in  arts.  In  general,  however,  all  live  peaceably  with 
each  other,  seldom  fighting,  except  those  who  live  to  the 
eastward,  who  are  much  annoyed  by  people  called  by  the 
Dutch  Bosclimen.  The  latter  live  entirely  upon  plunder,  steal- 
ing the  cattle  of  the  Hottentots,  but  not  openly  attacking 
them.  They  are  armed,  however,  with  lances  or  assagais, 
arrows  (which  they  know  how  to  poison,  some  with  the 
juice  of  herbs,  others  with  the  poison  of  the  snake  called 
cobra  di  capelo *),  and  stones  (which  some  particular  tribes 
throw  so  well  that  they  will  repeatedly  strike  a  dollar  or 
crown -piece  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  paces).  They 
train  up  bulls,  which  they  place  round  their  crawls  or  towns 
in  the  night :  these  will  constantly  assemble  and  oppose 
either  man  or  beast  that  approaches  them,  nor  will  they 
desist  till  they  hear  the  voice  of  their  masters,  who  know 
how  to  encourage  them  to  fight,  or  to  make  them  in  an 
instant  as  tame  and  tractable  as  their  other  cattle. 

Some  nations  know  how  to  melt  and  prepare  copper, 
which  is  found  among  them,  probably  native,  and  make  of 
it  broad  plates  to  ornament  their  foreheads.  Others  again, 
indeed  most,  know  how  to  harden  bits  of  iron,  which  they 
procure  from  the  Dutch,  and  make  of  them  knives  superior 
to  any  the  Dutch  can  sell  them. 

Their  chief  people,  many  of  whom  have  a  large  quantity 
of  cattle  of  their  own,  are  generally  clad  in  the  skins  of 
lions,  tigers,  or  zebras,  etc.,  which  they  adorn  and  fringe  very 

1  The  term  cobra  di  capella  is  only  applied  to  the  common  Indian  species 
of  the  cobra. 


442  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND      CHAP,  xix 

prettily,  especially  the  women,  who,  as  in  all  other  countries, 
are  fond  of  dress.  Both  sexes  grease  themselves  very 
frequently,  but  never  use  any  stinking  grease  if  they  can 
possibly  get  either  fresh  mutton  suet  or  sweet  butter,  which 
last,  made  by  shaking  the  milk  in  a  bag  made  of  skin,  is 
generally  used  by  the  richer  sort. 

A  TABLE  OF  THE  VALUE  OF  MONEY,  SUPPOSING  A  DUTCH 
STIVER  EQUAL  TO  A  PENNY  STERLING 

A  guinea   .  .  .  .  .  £0  18     0 

Half  do.    .  .  .  .  .  .  090 

A  crown-piece  .  .  .  .  .  040 

Half  do.    .  .  .  .  .  .  020 

A  shilling  .         /  .  .  ...  0     0  10 

A  louis  d'or  ..... 

A  French  crown  .  .  .  .  .  046 

A  ducat     .  .  .  .  .  .  090 

A  ducatoon  .  .  .  .  .  060 

A  skilling  .  .  .  .  .  006 

Adubblechey  .  .  .  .  .  002 

A  stiver    .  .  .  .  .  .  001 

An  imperial  rix-dollar      .  .  .  .  040 

Albert's  do.  .  .  .  .  060 

Dane's  rix-dollar  .  .  .  .  040 

Spanish  dollar  .  .  .  .  .  046 

A  quarter  of  do.  .  .  .  .  .  010 


I4:th  April  1771.  Sailed  from  the  road,  but  having 
very  little  wind  were  obliged  to  anchor  abreast  of  Eobben 
Island. 

15^.  In  the  morning  it  was  quite  calm,  so  a  boat  was 
hoisted  out  in  order  to  land  on  the  island  in  hopes  of 
purchasing  some  refreshments,  especially  of  garden  stuff  and 
salletting,  with  which  two  articles  it  is  said  to  abound ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  boat  came  near  the  shore  the  Dutch  hailed 
her,  and  told  the  people  in  her  at  their  peril  to  attempt 
landing,  bringing  down  at  the  same  time  six  men  with 
muskets,  who  paraded  on  the  beach  as  long  as  she  stayed, 
which  was  but  a  short  time,  as  we  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  risk  landing  in  opposition  to  them,  when  a  few 
cabbages  were  the  only  reward  to  be  expected. 


MAY  1771  ARRIVE  AT  ST.  HELENA  443 

The  island,  which  is  named  after  the  seals  (in  Dutch 
Robberi)  that  formerly  frequented  it,  is  low  and  sandy, 
situate  in  the  mouth  of  Table  Bay.  Here  are  confined  such 
criminals  as  are  judged  not  worthy  of  death  for  terms  of 
years  proportioned  to  the  heinousness  of  their  crimes.  They 
are  employed  as  slaves  in  the  Company's  service,  chiefly  in 
digging  for  lime-stone,  which,  though  very  scarce  upon  the 
continent,  is  plentiful  here.  Their  reason  for  not  letting 
foreigners  land  is  said  to  be  that  formerly  a  Danish  ship, 
which  by  sickness  had  lost  the  greater  part  of  her  crew, 
came  into  the  Cape  and  asked  for  assistance.  When  this  was 
refused  she  came  down  to  this  island,  and  sending  her  boats 
ashore,  secured  the  guard,  and  took  on  board  as  many  of 
the  criminals  as  she  thought  proper  to  navigate  the  ship 
home. 

2 8th.  This  day  we  crossed  our  first  meridian  and  com- 
pleted the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  in  doing  which  we, 
as  usual,  lost  a  day,  which  I  should  upon  this  occasion  have 
expended  properly  had  not  I  lost  it  a  second  time,  I  know 
not  how,  in  my  irregular  journal  at  the  Cape. 

1st  May.  In  the  morning  at  daybreak  saw  the  island  of 
St.  Helena  about  six  leagues  ahead,  and  consequently  before 
noon  arrived  in  the  road  where  were  found  His  Majesty's 
ship  Portland,  Captain  Elliot,  sent  out  to  convey  home  the 
Indiamen  on  the  account  of  the  likelihood  of  a  breach  with 
Spain,  also  His  Majesty's  ship  Swallow?-  which  had  the  day 
before  brought  word  of  the  pacific  measures  adopted  by  that 
Court,  and  twelve  sail  of  Indiamen. 

2nd.  As  the  fleet  was  to  sail  immediately  and  our  ship 
to  accompany  it,  it  became  necessary  to  make  as  much  of  a 
short  time  as  possible,  so  this  whole  day  was  employed  in 
riding  about  this  island,  in  the  course  of  which  we  very 
nearly  made  the  complete  circuit  of  it,  visiting  all  the  most 
remarkable  places  that  we  had  been  told  of. 

3rd.  Spent  this  day  in  botanising  on  the  ridge  where 
the  cabbage-trees  grow,  visiting  Cucold's  Point  and  Diana's 
Peak,  the  highest  in  the  island,  as  settled  by  the  observations 

1  This  was  not  the  consort  of  the  Dolphin  in  1766. 


444  CAPE   OF   GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND        CH.  xix 

of  Mr.  Maskelyne,  who  was  sent  out  to  this  island  by  the 
Royal  Society  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  transit  of 
Venus  in  the  year  [1761]. 

Some  Account  of  St.  Helena. 

This  small  island,  which  is  no  more  than  twelve  miles 
long  and  seven  broad,  is  situated  in  a  manner  in  the  middle 
of  the  vast  Atlantic  Ocean,  being  400  leagues  distant  from 
the  coast  of  Africa  and  above  600  from  that  of  America. 
It  appears  to  be,  or  rather  is,  the  summit  of  some  immense 
mountain,  which  towering  far  above  the  level  of  the  earth 
(in  this  part  of  the  globe  very  much  depressed)  elevates  itself 
even  considerably  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  which  covers 
its  highest  neighbours  with  a  body  of  water  even  to  this  time 
unfathomable  by  the  researches  of  mankind. 

The  higher  parts  of  all  countries  have  been  observed 
almost  without  exception  to  be  the  seats  of  volcanoes,1  while 
the  lower  parts  are  much  more  seldom  found  to  be  so.  Etna 
and  Vesuvius  have  no  land  higher  than  themselves  in  their 
neighbourhood.  Hecla  is  the  highest  hill  in  Iceland ;  in  the 
highest  parts  of  the  Andes  in  South  America  volcanoes  are 
frequent,  and  the  Pike  of  Teneriife  is  still  on  fire.  These 
still  continue  to  burn,  but  numberless  others  have  been 
found  to  show  evident  marks  of  fire,  although  now  extinct 
from  the  times  of  our  earliest  traditions. 

That  this  has  been  the  case  with  St.  Helena,  and  that  the 
great  inequalities  of  the  ground  there  have  been  originally 
caused  by  the  sinking  of  the  ground,  easily  appears  to  an 
observing  eye,  who  compares  the  opposite  ridges,  which,  though 
separated  always  by  deep  and  sometimes  by  tolerably  broad 
valleys,  have  such  a  perfect  similarity  in  appearance  as  well 
as  in  direction  as  scarce  leaves  room  for  a  doubt  that  they 
formerly  made  part  of  a  much  less  uneven  surface,  and  that 
this  sinking  in  of  the  earth  has  been  occasioned  by  sub- 
terraneous fires.  The  stones  abundantly  testify  to  this,  as 
they  universally  show  marks  of  having  been  at  some  time 

1  This  is  not  accurate  ;  nor  is  Hecla  the  highest  mountain  in  Iceland. 


MAYI77I      ST.  HELENA:    PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  445 

or  other  exposed  to  the  effects  of  a  great  degree  of  heat. 
Some  are  evidently  burnt  almost  to  a  cinder,  especially  those 
which  are  found  near  the  bottoms  of  valleys,  as  may  be 
seen  in  going  up  Side  Path,  and  probably  Ladder  Hill  also. 
Others  show  small  bubbles  as  are  seen  in  glass  which  has 
been  heated  almost  to  fusion ;  others  again  from  their  situa- 
tion on  the  tops  of  ridges  have  been  exposed  to  a  far  less 
degree  of  heat,  or  from  their  own  apyrous  qualities  show 
scarcely  any  signs  of  having  been  on  fire,  yet  in  many  of 
these,  when  carefully  examined,  are  found  small  pieces  of 
extraneous  bodies  such  as  mundics,  etc.,  which  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  fire,  though  it  was  not  able  to  make  any  altera- 
tion in  the  appearance  of  the  stone  containing  them. 

Thus  much  for  these  suggestions,  fit  only  for  those  who 
can  believe  a  Babylonian  chronology.  I  pass  now  to  the 
present  state  of  the  island,  a  subject  which  affords  much 
entertainment  to  a  contemplative  mind,  and  more  food  to  an 
inquisitive  one  than  the  shortness  of  my  stay  gave  me 
opportunity  to  collect. 

Making  it  as  we  did,  and  as  indeed  most  ships  do,  on  the 
windward  side,  it  is  a  rude  heap  of  rocks  bounded  by 
precipices  of  an  amazing  height  composed  of  a  kind  of  half- 
friable  rock,  which,  however,  show  not  the  least  sign  of 
vegetation,  nor  does  a  nearer  view  appear  more  promising. 
In  sailing  along  the  shore  ships  come  uncommonly  near  it, 
so  that  the  huge  cliffs  seem  almost  to  overhang  and  threaten 
destruction  by  the  apparent  probability  of  their  giving  way ; 
in  this  manner  they  sail  until  they  open  Chapel  Valley,  where 
stands  the  small  town.  Even  that  valley  resembles  a  large 
trench,  in  the  bottom  of  which  a  few  plants  are  to  be  seen ; 
but  its  sides  are  as  bare  as  the  cliff  next  the  sea.  Such  is 
the  apparent  bareness  of  the  island  in  its  present  cultivated 
state.  Nor  do  you  see  any  signs  of  fertility  till  you  have 
penetrated  beyond  the  first  hills,  when  the  valleys  begin  to  be 
green,  and  although  everywhere  inconceivably  steep,  produce 
a  great  deal  of  good  herbage.  Among  these  are  the  planters' 
houses,  near  each  of  which  is  a  small  plantation  of  cocos,  the 
only  vegetable  they  seem  to  take  much  trouble  to  cultivate. 


446  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND        CH.  xix 

The  town,  very  small,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
houses,  ill-built,  stands  just  by  the  seaside.  The  church, 
which  was  originally  a  very  poor  building,  is  now  almost 
in  ruins,  and  the  market-house  is  advancing  by  quick  steps 
to  the  same  situation. 

The  white  inhabitants  are  almost  to  a  man  English,  who, 
as  they  are  not  allowed  to  have  any  trade  or  commerce  of 
their  own,  live  entirely  by  supplying  refreshments  to  such 
ships  as  touch  at  the  place.  To  their  shame  be  it  spoken, 
they  appear  to  have  a  supply  of  refreshments  by  no  means 
equal  to  the  extent  and  fertility  of  their  soil,  as  well  as  the 
fortunate  situation  that  their  island  seems  to  promise,  situated 
as  it  is  between  temperate  and  warm  latitudes.  Their  soil 
might  produce  most,  if  not  all,  the  vegetables  of  Europe, 
together  with  the  fruits  of  the  Indies,  yet  both  are  almost 
totally  neglected.  Cabbages,  indeed,  and  garden  stuff  in 
general,  are  very  good,  but  so  far  from  being  in  sufficient  plenty 
to  supply  the  ships  that  touch  here,  a  scanty  allowance  only  of 
them  are  to  be  got,  chiefly  by  favour  from  the  greater  people, 
who  totally  monopolise  every  article  produced  in  the  island, 
excepting  only  beef  and  mutton,  which  the  Company  keep  in 
their  own  hands.  Although  there  is  a  market-house  in  the 
town,  nothing  is  sold  publicly,  nor  could  either  of  the  three 
King's  ships  that  were  there  get  greens  for  their  tables, 
except  only  Captain  Elliot,  the  commanding  officer,  who  was 
furnished  by  order  of  the  Governor  out  of  his  own  garden. 

Here  are  plantains,  peaches,  lemons,  apples,  and  guavas, 
but,  I  believe,  scarcely  any  other  fruit.  But  while  their 
pastures  lie,  as  they  really  do,  as  much  neglected  as  their 
gardens,  there  can  be  little  hopes  of  amendment.  In  short, 
the  custom  of  the  Indiamen's  captains,  who  always  make 
very  handsome  presents  to  the  families  where  they  are 
entertained,  besides  paying  extravagant  prices  for  the  few 
refreshments  they  get,  seems  to  have  inspired  the  people  with 
laziness.  Were  refreshments  cheap  they  would  probably  on 
the  whole  receive  not  much  more  money  for  them  in  the 
year,  and  the  presents  would  be  the  same,  so,  at  least,  they 
seem  to  think.  In  short,  the  contrast  between  the  Cape  of 


MAYI77I  ST.  HELENA:    PRODUCTIONS  447 

Good  Hope,  which,  though  by  nature  a  mere  desert,  supplies 
abundantly  refreshments  to  all  nations  who  touch  there,  and 
this  island  highly  favoured  by  nature,  shows  not  unaptly  the 
genius  of  the  two  nations  for  making  colonies.  Nor  do  I 
think  I  go  too  far  in  asserting  that  were  the  Cape  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  it  would  be  a  desert,  as  St.  Helena  in 
the  hands  of  the  Dutch  would  as  infallibly  become  a  paradise. 
Small  as  the  island  is,  and  not  raised  very  much  above 
the  surface  of  the  sea,  it  enjoys  a  variety  of  climates  hardly 
to  be  believed.  The  cabbage-trees,1  as  they  are  called,  which 
grow  on  the  highest  ridges,  can  by  no  art  be  cultivated  on 
the  lower  ones,  where  the  red  wood  and  gum  wood  both 
grow ;  these  in  their  turn  refuse  the  high  ridges,  and  neither 
of  the  three  are  to  be  found  in  the  valleys,  which  indeed  are 
in  general  covered  with  European  plants,  or  the  more  common 
ones  of  the  Indies,  in  all  probability  originally  brought  here 
by  ships.  This  is  the  more  probable,  as  much  the  largest 
proportion  of  them  are  natives  of  England.  Among  them  I 
may  mention  the  meadow  grass  (Anthoxanthum  odoratum), 
which  is  the  chief  covering  of  their  pastures,  and  to  which  I 
am  much  inclined  to  attribute  the  verdure  of  the  island,  far 
exceeding  anything  I  have  before  seen  in  equally  low  latitudes. 
The  furze  also  (Ulex  Europeus),  the  seeds  of  which  were 
brought  over  in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  thrives  wonder- 
fully, and  is  highly  praised  by  the  islanders  as  a  great  im- 
provement, though  they  make  no  use  of  it  except  for  heating 
their  rooms.  Barley  was  sown  here  about  forty  years  ago, 
and  produced  sufficient  to  supply  the  island  without  any 
being  sent  from  home,  Its  cultivation  has,  however,  suddenly 
dropped,  for  what  reason  I  could  not  find  out,  and  since 
that  time  has  never  again  been  attempted.  Yams,  the  same 
as  are  called  cocos  in  the  West  Indies,  are  what  they  chiefly 
depend  upon  to  supply  their  numerous  slaves  with  provisions : 
these,  however,  are  not  cultivated  in  half  the  perfection  that 
I  have  seen  in  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  nor  have  they  like 
the  Indians  several  sorts,  many  of  which  are  very  palatable ; 
but  are  confined  to  only  one,  and  that  one  of  the  worst. 

1  Small  trees  and  shrubs  allied  to  the  aster  and  groundsel. 


448  CAPE  OF   GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND        CH.  xix 

All  kind  of  labour  is  here  performed  by  man,  indeed  he 
is  the  only  animal  that  works,  except  a  few  saddle-horses ; 
nor  has  he  the  least  assistance  of  art  to  enable  him  to 
perform  his  task.  Supposing  the  roads  to  be  too  steep  and 
narrow  for  carts,  an  objection  which  lies  against  only  one  part 
of  the  island,  yet  the  simple  contrivance  of  wheel-barrows 
would  doubtless  be  far  preferable  to  carrying  burthens  upon 
the  head,  and  even  that  expedient  is  never  tried.  Their 
slaves  indeed  are  very  numerous  ;  they  have  them  from  most 
parts  of  the  world,  but  they  appeared  to  me  a  miserable 
race,  almost  worn  out  with  the  severity  of  the  punishments, 
of  which  they  frequently  complained.  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  it  appeared  to  me  that  far  more  frequent  and  more 
wanton  cruelties  were  exercised  by  my  countrymen  over 
these  unfortunate  people  than  ever  their  neighbours  the 
Dutch,  famed  for  inhumanity,  are  guilty  of.  One  rule,  how- 
ever, they  strictly  observe,  which  is  never  to  punish  when 
ships  are  there. 

Nature  has  blessed  this  island  with  very  few  productions 
either  useful  for  the  support,  or  conducive  to  the  luxury,  of 
mankind.  Partridges  and  doves  are  the  only  animals,  except 
possibly  rats  and  mice ;  the  latter,  however,  more  probably 
brought  here  by  ships.  Among  vegetables,  purslain,  celery, 
water -cresses,  wild  mint,  and  tobacco  are  now  common 
among  the  rocks ;  though  I  doubt  much  whether  they  were 
so  before  people  came  here,  as  none,  except  the  last,  are 
found  in  parallel  latitudes. 

The  first,  indeed,  is  found  on  Ascension,  and  in  many 
parts  equally  unlikely  to  have  originally  produced  it,  but 
that  is  accounted  for  by  the  ancient  custom  of  the  Portuguese, 
who,  finding  this  herb  particularly  beneficial  in  complaints 
contracted  in  long  voyages,  made  a  point  of  sowing  it 
wherever  they  went  ashore,  a  custom  from  whence  all 
nations  have  since  reaped  no  small  benefit.  Amongst  its 
native  products,  however,  ebony1  must  be  reckoned,  though 
the  trees  that  produce  it  are  now  nearly  extinct,  and  no  one 
remembers  the  time  when  they  were  at  all  plentiful.  Yet 

1  Melhania,  melanoxylon,  Br. ,  now  quite  extinct. 


MAYI77I  ST.  HELENA:   ORIGIN  OF  LIFE  449 

pieces  of  the  wood  are  frequently  found  in  the  valleys,  of  a 
fine  black  colour,  and  of  a  hardness  almost  equal  to  iron ; 
these,  however,  are  almost  always  so  short  and  so  crooked 
that  no  use  has  yet  been  made  of  them.  Whether  the  tree 
is  the  same  as  that  which  produces  ebony  on  the  Isle  of 
Bourbon  and  the  adjacent  islands  is  impossible  to  know,  as 
the  French  have  not  yet  published  any  account  of  it.  Other 
species  of  trees  and  plants,  which  seem  to  have  been  origin- 
ally natives  of  the  island,  are  few  in  number.  Insects  there 
are  also  a  few,  and  one  species  of  snail,  which  inhabits  only 
the  tops  of  the  highest  ridges,  and  has  probably  been  there 
ever  since  their  original  creation. 

Had  our  stay  upon  the  island  been  longer,  we  should  in 
all  probability  have  discovered  some  more  natural  produc- 
tions, but  in  all  likelihood  not  many ;  secluded  as  this  rock 
is  from  the  rest  of  the  world  by  seas  of  immense  extent,  it 
is  difficult  to  imagine  how  anything  not  originally  created 
in  that  spot  could  by  any  accident  arrive  at  it.  For  my 
part  I  confess  I  feel  more  wonder  at  finding  a  little  snail 
on  the  top  of  the  ridges  of  St.  Helena,  than  in  finding  people 
upon  America,  or  any  other  part  of  the  globe. 

As  the  benefits  of  the  land  are  so  limited,  the  sea  must 
often  be  applied  to  by  the  natives  of  this  little  rock ;  nor 
is  she  unmindful  of  their  necessities,  for  she  constantly 
supplies  immense  plenty,  and  no  less  variety,  of  fish.  She 
would  indeed  be  culpable  did  she  do  otherwise :  she  never 
met  with  a  calamity  equal  to  that  of  the  earth  in  the  general 
deluge,  and  her  children,  moreover,  have  the  advantage 
of  a  free  intercourse  with  all  parts  of  the  globe,  habitable  to 
them,  without  being  driven  to  the  necessity  of  tempting  the 
dangers  of  an  element  unsuited  to  their  natures ;  a  fatal 
necessity  under  which  too  many  even  of  us,  lords  of  the 
creation,  yearly  perish,  and  of  all  others  through  the  wide 
bounds  of  creation  how  vast  a  proportion  must  die.  The 
seed  of  a  thistle  supported  by  its  down,  the  insect  by  its 
weak,  and  the  bird  by  its  more  able,  wing,  may  tempt  the 
dangers  of  the  sea ;  but  of  these  how  many  millions  must 
perish  for  one  which  arrives  at  the  distance  of  twelve 

2  G 


450  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND         CH.  xix 

hundred  miles  from  the  place  of  its  rest.  It  appears,  indeed, 
far  more  difficult  to  account  for  the  passage  of  one  individual, 
than  to  believe  the  destruction  of  all  that  may  ever  have 
been  by  their  ill  fate  hurried  into  such  an  attempt. 

Money  of  all  nations  passes  here  according  to  its  real 
intrinsic  European  value ;  there  is  therefore  no  kind  of 
trouble  on  that  head,  as  in  all  the  Dutch  settlements. 


4tth.  Sailed  after  dinner  in  company  with  twelve  India- 
men  and  His  Majesty's  ship  Portland.  We  resolved  to  steer 
homewards  with  all  expedition,  in  order  (if  possible)  to 
bring  the  first  news  of  our  voyage,  as  we  found  that  many 
particulars  of  it  had  transpired,  and  particularly  that  a  copy 
of  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  most  or  all  the  principal 
places  we  had  been  at  had  been  taken  by  the  captain's 
clerk  from  the  captain's  own  journals,  and  given  or  sold  to 
one  of  the  India  captains.  War  we  had  no  longer  the  least 
suspicion  of ;  the  Indiamen  being  ordered  to  sail  immediately 
without  waiting  for  the  few  who  had  not  yet  arrived  was  a 
sufficient  proof  that  our  friends  at  home  were  not  at  all  ap- 
prehensive of  it. 

IQth.  This  day  we  saw  the  Island  of  Ascension,  which  is 
tolerably  high  land :  our  captain,  however,  did  not  choose 
to  anchor,. unwilling  to  give  the  fleet  so  much  start  of  him. 
Those  who  have  been  ashore  upon  this  island  say  that  it  is  little 
more  than  a  heap  of  cinders,  the  remains  of  a  volcano  ever 
since  the  discovery  of  the  Indies.  Osbeck,  who  was  ashore 
on  it,  found  only  five  species  of  plants ;  but  I  am  much  in- 
clined to  believe  that  there  are  others  which  escaped  his 
notice,  as  he  certainly  was  not  on  the  side  of  the  island 
where  the  French  land,  in  which  place  I  have  been  informed 
is  a  pretty  wide  plain  covered  with  herbage,  among  which 
grows  Cactus  opuntia,  a  plant  not  seen  by  that  gentleman. 

11th.  Saw  Holothuria  physalis,  which  our  seamen  call 
Portuguese  man-of-war,  for  the  first  time  since  we  left  these 
seas  in  going  out. 

23rd  Dined  on  board  the  Portland  with  Captain  Elliot: 


JUNE  1771  ASCENSION  TO  ENGLAND  451 

while  on  board  her  saw  a  common  house  martin  flying  about 
the  ship. 

29th.  Fresh  trade,  which  quickly  relieved  everybody 
from  the  depression  of  spirits,  etc.,  which  is  the  constant 
companion  of  the  damp  calms  we  have  now  passed  through. 

1st  June.  Saw  some  gulph-weed  to-day  for  the  first 
time. 

3rd.  This  day  passed  under  the  sun,  and  were  for  the 
last  time  ascii.1 

5th.  Less  gulph-weed  than  yesterday,  so  we  began  to 
catch  it  by  means  of  a  pole  with  six  large  hooks  fastened 
at  the  end.  Out  of  it  we  took  Scyllcea  pelagica,  Medusa 
porpita,  SyngnatJius  pelagicus,  Lophius  pelagicus,  and  Cancer 
minutus. 

6th.  More  gulph-weed,  in  which  took  up  several  in- 
dividuals of  the  afore-mentioned  species,  besides  which  were 
caught  Cancer  pelagicus,  and  a  shrimp  not  described. 
Several  tropic  birds  were  seen,  all  of  which  flew  in  a 
straight  line  towards  the  coast  of  Africa. 

18^.  Saw  three  New  England  schooners  cruising  for 
whales :  sent  a  boat  on  board  one,  who  told  us  that  she  had 
yesterday  spoken  to  an  outward-bound  Englishman,  who 
had  said  that  all  was  peace  in  Europe,  and  that  the 
Spaniards  had  agreed  to  pay  the  Manilla  ransom  with 
interest  for  one  year,  and  a  million  of  dollars  for  damages 
done  at  Falkland's  Islands. 

This  vessel  had  by  their  own  account  been  out  five 
weeks  and  caught  nothing :  they  had  chased  a  whale  sixty 
leagues  into  Fayal  harbour,  where  they  could  not  follow  it, 
as  the  Portuguese  suffer  no  whaler  to  go  into  any  of  their 
ports  in  the  Western  Islands.2  They  had,  they  said,  no 
meat  on  board,  but  lived  upon  what  they  could  catch.  They 
readily  sold  us  four  large  albecores,  saying  that  they  could 
catch  more.  As  for  American  news,  King  George,  they 
said,  had  behaved  very  ill  for  some  time,  but  the  colonists 
had  brought  him  to  terms  at  last. 

1  i.e.  without  a  shadow  (Gr.  £<mos). 

2  The  Azores,  of  which  Fayal  is  one. 


452  CAPE  OF  GOOD   HOPE  TO  ENGLAND        CH.  xix 

23rd.  Saw  one  shearwater:  the  reason  of  so  few  having 
been  seen  this  passage,  may  be  that  during  their  breeding 
time  they  do  not  wander  far  out  at  sea. 

4th  July.  My  bitch  "  Lady "  was  found  dead  in  my 
cabin,  lying  upon  a  stool  on  which  she  generally  slept ;  she 
had  been  remarkably  well  for  some  days ;  in  the  night  she 
shrieked  out  very  loud,  so  that  we  who  slept  in  the  great 
cabin  heard  her,  but  becoming  quiet  immediately  no  one  re- 
garded it:  whatever  disease  was  the  cause  of  her  death,  it 
was  the  most  sudden  that  ever  came  under  my  observation. 

*lt~h.  Caught  Lepas  cygnifera  l  floating  upon  the  water  in 
round  congeries,  some  of  which  were  large  enough  to  fill  a 
man's  hat. 

8th.  Calm :  went  in  boat  and  shot  fulmar  and  Manx 
puffin,  of  Pennant's  British  Zoology. 

1  Oth.  This  morning  the  land  was  discovered  by  young 
Mck,2  the  same  boy  who  first  saw  New  Zealand :  it  proved 
to  be  the  Lizard. 

1 2th.  At  three  o'clock  landed  at  Deal. 

1  Probably  Lepas  anatifera. 
2  His  real  name  was  Nicholas  Young. 


APPENDIX 

ELECTRICITY 

25th  October  1768,  about  five  miles  south  of  the  line. 
My  machine  was  made  by  Bamsden,  and  worked  by  a  flat 
plate  8  inches  in  diameter.  The  phial  used  was  6j  inches 
in  height  and  5|-  in  diameter  without  the  neck  ;  the  distance 
between  the  stopper  and  the  coating,  3  inches,  the  stopper 
made  of  wood  and  fastened  to  the  glass  on  the  inside  by  a 
red  cement  (probably  sealing-wax).  The  electrometer  was 
divided  into  thirty  parts  of  1|-  inch  as  nearly  as  possible. 
About  nine  in  the  morning  the  machine  was  set  up,  the  day 
being  rather  cloudy,  and  the  ship  going  between  three  and 
four  knots. 

When  the  plate  was  first  turned  round  the  cushions 
appeared  to  be  damp,  adhering  to  the  glass  so  much  that  it 
was  with  difficulty  made  to  move  very  slowly,  although  the 
cushions  were  screwed  on  as  tightly  as  possible.  After 
wiping  them  very  well  the  plate  was  made  to  go  round, 
and  in  about  ten  minutes  electricity  was  excited,  though 
but  in  a  small  degree  ;  the  motion  of  the  ship  and  the  shaking 
of  the  table,  caused  by  turning  the  machine,  made  the 
electrometer  (which  was  a  very  unsteady  one)  move  back- 
wards and  forwards  visibly,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to 
ascertain  exactly  at  what  distance  it  discharged  the  phial, 
it  however  was  guessed  to  be  about  a  line  when  at  the 
greatest  distance. 

It  continued  to  work  in  this  manner  about  half  an  hour, 
in  which  time  several  attempts  were  made  to  give  a  shock, 
but  they  succeeded  very  badly,  the  shocks  being  very  slight, 


454  APPENDIX 


though  given  with  as  much  electricity  as  could  be  got  into 
the  phial.  It  then  (having  grown  by  degrees  weaker  and 
weaker)  ceased  to  work  entirely.  Water  was  applied  to 
the  cushions,  but  without  any  effect :  everything  then  was 
wiped  and  dried  as  well  as  could  be  done  in  our  situation, 
the  cushions  being  carried  to  the  fire,  but  no  electricity 
perceptible  to  the  touch  was  communicated  to  the  conductor. 
Whether  any  was  excited  on  the  surface  of  the  plate  we  did 
not  then  observe.  An  amalgam  of  lead  was  then  applied, 
causing  a  small  amount  of  electricity,  but  much  less  than 
at  first,  and  this  very  soon  ceased  also.  From  that  time  no 
electricity  perceptible  (except  by  Canton's  electrometer)  could 
be  communicated  to  the  conductor,  though  the  machine  was 
worked  nearly  an  hour. 

In  the  course  of  these  experiments  two  things  were 
observed,  differing  from  the  phenomena  usually  seen.  First, 
the  phial  when  filled  with  as  much  electricity  as  possible 
would  not  retain  it  more  than  a  very  few  seconds,  three  or 
four  by  guess  (for  no  opportunity  of  measuring  by  a  watch 
was  given,  the  machine  stopping  work  without  any  warning)  ; 
at  the  end  of  this  time  not  the  smallest  quantity  of  electricity 
was  left,  though  I  tried  all  my  five  phials.  Two  of  these  phials 
were  such  as  were  described  above  ;  the  others  were  smaller, 
made  much  in  the  same  manner,  but  instead  of  being  coated  on 
the  inside  were  filled  with  leaf -gold.  Secondly,  the  floor  of 
the  cabin  in  which  the  experiments  were  tried  was  covered 
with  a  red  floor-cloth  of  painted  canvas  that  had  been  issued 
to  the  ship  from  His  Majesty's  stores  at  Deptford.  This 
was  usually  washed  with  salt  water  every  morning  and 
allowed  to  dry  without  being  taken  up.  This  proved  as 
good  a  conductor  of  electricity  as  any  we  could  make  use 
of,  so  that  a  man  standing  on  one  side  the  machine  and 
touching  the  coating  of  the  phial  was  shocked  by  another 
who  touched  the  conductor,  without  having  any  other 
communication  with  the  first  than  by  the  floor-cloth  under 
his  feet.  Dr.  Solander  and  myself  tried  this  in  several  ways, 
and  made  more  experiments  afterwards  with  Mr.  Green's 
machine,  as  noticed  further  on. 


ELECTRICITY  455 


The  ill  success  of  these  experiments  seems  to  me  to 
have  arisen  chiefly  from  the  uncommon  dampness  of  the 
circumambient  air,  which  had  been  observed  by  everybody 
since  we  crossed  the  tropic,  and  is  fully  noticed  in  my 
journal.  By  this  solution  alone  can  all  the  phenomena 
that  appeared  be  accounted  for. 

Air  charged  with  particles  of  damp  is  well  known  to  be 
of  all  others  the  greatest  enemy  to  electricity.  It  im- 
mediately attracts  and  dissipates  all  the  electrical  matter 
which  is  collected  by  the  machine,  which  therefore  worked 
faintly  for  a  little  while,  till  the  damp  was  condensed  on 
the  conductor,  and  chiefly  on  the  surface  of  the  glass  phial, 
and  then  ceased  entirely.  A  small  quantity  was,  however, 
always  noticeable  upon  the  surface  of  the  plate,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  conductor. 

The  phial,  though  charged  as  full  as  the  machine  would 
fill  it,  even  at  the  time  of  its  best  working,  scarcely  retained 
the  electrical  matter  at  all,  owing  doubtless  to  the  com- 
munication made  by  the  condensed  damp  between  the 
coating  and  the  stopper  of  the  phial ;  this  increased  every 
moment,  so  that  at  last  it  would  not  contain  any  electricity. 

The  situation  on  board  ship  would  not  allow  the  use  of 
a  fire  to  warm  the  whole  machine,  which  should  have  been 
done,  and  which  would  have  been  a  great  satisfaction,  but 
the  motion  of  the  ship,  the  distance  of  the  galley  from  the 
cabin,  and  the  number  of  people  who  are  constantly  busy 
there,  made  that  impossible. 

The  dampness  of  the  air  complained  of  here  has  not 
been  observed  now  for  the  first  time.  Piso,  in  his  account 
of  the  Brazils,  mentioned  it,  and  says  that  victuals  which 
have  kept  well  before  spoil  immediately  there.  This  there- 
fore may  account  for  the  general  opinion  of  electrical 
machines  failing  to  work  when  near  the  line,  as  the  fault 
could  not  be  in  my  machine  which  worked  remarkably  well 
in  London,  and  fully  as  well  as  I  expected  in  Madeira. 

25th  October  1768,  17  miles  south  of  the  line — Mr. 
Green's  machine.  This  was  made  by  Watkins :  the  jar 
was  of  glass  8  inches  high  and  7  Tdeep,  coated  with 


456 


APPENDIX 


varnish  between  the  lead  and  the  stopper,  which  was  of 
cork,  no  varnish  coming  between  that  and  the  neck.  The 
electrometer  was  divided  into  thirty  parts  of  1-J-  inch. 

The  plate  at  first  refused  to  go  round,  as  mine  had  done 
before,  the  cushions  being  drawn  together  by  the  glass,  to 
which  they  seemed  to  adhere,  probably  from  their  dampness. 
After  some  time,  however,  this  went  off,  and  in  about  ten 
minutes  electricity  was  excited. 

The  electrometer  was  then  applied  and  went  off  at  7. 

2.  Electricity  was  kept  in  the  phial  thirty  seconds  with- 
out any  appreciable  quantity  being  lost. 

3.  A  hole  was  struck  through  two  cards  by  the  discharg- 
ing wire. 

4.  Much  greater  shocks  were   given  to  several  people 
than  any  that  could  be  given  by  my  machine. 

5.  The  phenomenon  of  the  floor-cloth  proving  a  con- 
ductor was  tried  more  fully  than  before.     A  wire  (b,  see 

figure)  was  passed  through 
the  phial  (a),  the  two  ends 
of  which  were  taken  hold 
of  by  two  people  (c  c),  who 
each  took  hold  of  another 
person  (d  d) ;  the  operator 
(e)  then  touched  the  phial 
with  his  discharging  wire, 
and  received  the  shock 
through  both  arms,  as  did 
(c  c)  and  (d  d).  Sometimes, 
however,  the  others  (dd) 
felt  it  only  in  the  arm 
by  which  they  held  (cc). 
The  comparative  force  of 
the  blows  which  each  felt 
were  difficult  to  ascertain, 
but  we  supposed  that  (c  c) 

felt  more  than  (d  d),  and  probably  the  operator  most  of  all. 
The  chief  reason  that  this  machine  worked  better  than 

mine  seems  to  be  that  the  bottle  was  coated  with  varnish 


ELECTRICITY  457 

between  the  stopper  and  coating  of  lead ;  this  probably  did 
not  condense  the  damp  of  the  air  so  readily  as  glass,  and 
consequently  the  machine  worked  well  when  mine  refused 
to  work  at  all. 

Monday,  19th  March  1770.  The  machine  on  being  taken 
out  of  the  box  was  found  to  have  had  the  plate  and 
one  of  the  phials  broken  by  some  accident.  The  former 
was  replaced  by  a  spare  one.  Every  part  was  perfectly  dry 
and  worked  with  great  freedom,  but  a  small  proportion 
of  electricity  only  could  be  excited,  at  most  enough  to 
strike  through  one  card.  During  all  our  experiments  the 
floor-cloth  conducted  as  it  had  done  before,  though  it 
had  not  been  washed  for  some  weeks.  Our  experiments 
were  soon  cut  short  by  the  wind,  which  was  foul,  freshening 
so  much  that  we  could  not  with  safety  let  the  machine 
stand.  The  day  was  rather  hazy. 

Friday,  23rd  March  1770.  All  the  day  was  clear,  and 
the  evening  also  very  fine.  At  sunset  the  machine  was  set 
up.  It  at  first  entirely  refused  to  work,  but  after  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  some  sparks  were  excited.  The  most, 
however,  that  we  could  do  was  to  obtain  a  slight  shock. 
The  floor-cloth  conducted  as  usual,  which  we  ascertained  by 
resting  upon  a  table  or  chair,  in  which  case  we  did  not  feel 
the  shock  as  we  always  did  when  standing  upon  the  ground. 


(SOCIETY  ISIANPSj 


W    ZEALAND) 


SOUTH  ISLAND 


—  4.5° 


165"       E.  of  Greenwich.     170° 


IBO" 


Bank#  's  Journal 


MacmillajL  &  Co.  Ltf 


Stanford's  GtaglEstoK 


W 


W 


w 

o 


INDEX 


ABROLHOS  SHOAL,  22 

Acajou  or  Casshew,  38,  393 

Acarus,  14,  67 

Admiralty  Bay,  220 

Albatross,  44, 63-65, 180,  208,  217,  259, 

260 

Amboyna  Island,  401 
Amethysts,  40 
Amoc,  running,  408 
Amphibious  iish,  274 
Anabao  Island,  330,  360 
Anacardium  occidentale,  38,  393 

orientate,  291 
Annona,  393 

Anson,  Lord,  xliii,  22,  47,  48,  160,  226 
Anthoxanthum,  447 
Ants,  271,  273,  283,  303-6 
Apium,  48,  58 
Apples,  North  American,  181 

(Spondias  dulcis),  93 
Areca,  chewing,  349 
Areca  sapida,  227 

Artocarpus  incisa  (bread-fruit),  97, 105, 
137,  145 

integrifolia,  395 
Ascension  Island,  450 
Atriplex  patula,  227 
Aurora,  331 
Australia,  261-323 

Animals,  282,  285,  287,  291,  301 

Ants,  271,  273,  283,  303 

Birds,  293,  302 

Boats,  320 

Boomerangs,  263 

Botany  Bay,  264-69 

Climate,  292,  322 

Eagle  Island,  293 

Endeavour  Kiver,  279-91 

Fire,  native  method  of  obtaining  it, 
289,  317 

Fish,  306 

Food,  311 


Australia,  fruits,  299 
Furniture,  315 
General  appearance  of  the  country, 

270,  297 

Great  Barrier  Reef,  293-295 
Houses  or  huts,  314 
Insects,  271,  273,  283,  303-6 
Kangooroos,  282,  285,  287,  291,  301 
Language,  322 
Moreton  Bay,  270 
Natives,    general     appearance     and 

habits,    264,    266,    269,    287, 

308 

Timidity,  268,  285,  320 
Ornaments,  309 
Palms,  299 
Plants,  271,  298-300 
Population,  307 
Tools,  316 
Torres  Straits,  295 
Trees,  267,  271,  273,  299 
Weapons,  263,  266,  318 
Averrhoa,  396 

BAGTRIS  MINOR,  38 
Bananas,  38,  392 
Bancudus  angustifolia,  153 
Banks,  J.,  biographical  sketch,  xxiii 

Illness  of,  371-76,  426-27 
Banks'  Peninsula,  217 
Barley  at  St.  Helena,  447 
Barnacles  (Lepas\  16,  21,  45,  65,  182. 

284,  452 

Baster,  J.,  xliii,  15 
Batavia,  366-416 

Amoc,  408 

Animals,  387 

Canals,  378 

Chinese,  customs,  etc.,  412 

Chinese  rebellion,  381,  415 

Climate,  369,  375,  385 

Country-house,  373 


460 


JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


Batavia,  crocodiles  as  twin  brothers  to 
men,  410 

Environs  of  Batavia,  384 

Flowers,  399 

Fortifications,  380 

Fruits,  390 

General  description,  377 

Government,  414 

Harbour,  383 

Hotel,  366 

Houses,  379 

Illness  of  the  party,  370-76 

Islands,  383 

Javans,  appearance  and  customs,  405 

Justice,  415 

Language  (Javan  and  Malay),  423 

Markets,  397 

Money,  416 

Mosquitos,  375 

Palm  wine,  398 

Plants,  vegetables,  389 

Population,  378,  401 

Portuguese,  382,  403 

Slaves,  404 

Spices,  400 

Streets,  378 

Superstitions,  409 

Taxation,  416 

Teeth,  filing,  407 

Trade,  402 

Unhealthiness  of,  369,  371,  382,  385 
Bats,  301,  365 
Baye  sans  fond,  45 
Beech,  49,  51,  58 
Beer  brewed  at  sea,  72 
Beroe,  17 

Betel,  313,  349,  406,  407 
Betula,  49,  51,  58 
Birch,  49,  51,  58 
Biron,  C.,  xliii,  24 
Blimbing,  344,  396 
Boa  bidarra,  395 
Bola-Bola  Island  (see  Society  Islands], 

118,  122 

Bonga-tanjong,  400 
Bonitos,  14 
Boomerang,  263 
Borassus  (fan-palm),  341,  344 
Botany  Bay,  264 

Bougainville,  L.  de,  xliii,  97,  370,  430 
Brazil  (see  Rio  de  Janeiro],  22-42 
Bread-fruit,  97,  105,  137,  145 
Brisson,  M.,  xliv,  24 
Bromelia  (pine-apple),  37,  391 
Brosse,  C.  de,  xliv,  164 
Brown,  R.,  ix,  xxxvii,  xxxviii 
Browne,  P.,  xliv,  153 
Buchan,  A.,  death  of,  79 
Buffaloes,  342,  362,  387 


Buffon,  G.  de,  xliv,  291 
Bustard,  272 
Butterflies,  32,  273 
Byron,  Admiral  J.,  xliv 

CABBAGE,  curing,  70 

Cabbage-palm,  227 

Cactus,  450 

Calamus,  396 

Calophyllum,  153 

Cananga,  399 

Canari,  396 

Cancer,  2,  21,  30,  272,  284 

Cannibalism,  193,  205,  211,  237,  247 

Canton,  J.,  xlv,  454 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  257,  429-42 

Animals,  435 

Botanic  garden,  436 

Climate,  434 

General  description,  432,  438 

Hottentots,  439 

Inhabitants,  433 

Menagerie,  437 

Money,  442 

Provisions,  435 
Carabus  taken  at  sea,  44 
Carcinium,  2,  4 
Cardamine,  48,  58 
Carica,  393 
Cassada,  23,  36 

Casshew  apple  or  Acajou,  38,  393 
Castor-oil  plant,  365 
Casuarina  (etoa),  102,  124,  147 
Catappa,  396 
Caterpillars,  stinging,  271 
Cattle,  387,  435 
Celery,  wild,  48,  58 
Chaitcea,  148 
Chama,  284,  295,  306 
Champacka,  399 
Cherrema,  396 

Chinese  at  Batavia,  381,  412-415 
Cimex,  15,  67 
Citrus,  37,  391 
Cloth  manufacture,  145,  351 
Cloves,  401 
Cockatoos,  302 

Cockles,  gigantic,  284,  295,  306 
Cocoanuts,  140,  393 

cast  up  on  the  Australian  beach,  283, 

284 

Cocos  or  taros,  135,  228,  253,  445,  447 
Cocos  Island  (Samoa)  language,  165 
Coedoe,  437 
Combang,  399 
Compass,  variation  of,  263 
Continent,  southern,  speculations  con- 
cerning its  existence,  66,  254 
Convolvulus,  151 


INDEX 


461 


Cook,  Captain  J.,  xlv 

Illness  of,  374 

Cook's  Straits,  213,  215,  216,  221 
Coral,  effect  on  ship's  bottom,  282 

Keefs,  117,  122,  274,  293-95 

Used  as  a  file,  156 

Used  for  building,  102,  114 
Cordia,  150 
Cowley,  A.,  xlvi,  46 
Crabs,  2,  21,  30,  272,  284 
Cracatoa,  417,  418 

Crocodiles  as  twin  brothers  to  men,  410 
Crows,  New  Holland,  302 
Cucurbita  (cucumber),  190 

(melons),  37,  393 
Custard  apple,  393 
Cuttle-fish,  65,  263 
Cycas,  299,  313,  421 
Cynips,  272 
Cynometra,  395 
Cyperus,  150 

DA&VSA,  2,  3,  64 

Dalrymple,  A.,  xlvi,  45,  66,  184,  234 

Dampier,  W.,  xlvi,  22,  46,   262,  296, 

300,  325,  329 
Deer,  421 
Diamonds,  39 
Diddphis,  291,  301 
Diomedea,  44,  63-5,  180,  208,  217,  259, 

260 

Dogs,  61,  100,  136,  224 
as  food,  100,  136,  237 
Dolphin,  H.M.S.,  xlvi,  71,  74,  78,  81, 

82,  84,  97,  105,  431 
Drimys,  48,  58 
Dryander,  J.,  xxxviii 
Drying  plants,  267,  281,  283 
Durian,  394 
Dyeing  cloth,  124,  149 

EAGLE  ISLAND,  293 

East  Indies,  see  Batavia  and  Savu 

Ebony,  448 

EcJieneis,  14 

Edwards,  G.,  xlvi,  24 

Egg-bird,  67 

Egmont,  Mount,  208,  222 

Electrical  experiments,  6,  453-57 

Ende  or  Flores,  360 

Endeavour  River,  279-91 

Equator,  crossing  the,  18 

Eucalyptus,  267,  271,  300 

Eugenia,  38,  299,  394 

FAGUS,  49,  51,  58 
Fan-palm,  341,  345 
Farinha  de  Pao,  23,  36 
Fernandez,  J.,  xlvii,  256 


Ferns  eaten  in  New  Zealand,  190,  237 
Ficus  prolixa,  145 

tinctoria,  150 

Fig  impregnated  by  Cynips,  272 
Fig-trees,  145,  150 

Fire,  method  of  obtaining  it  in  Aus- 
tralia, 289,  317 

"  Fire-arms  "  in  New  Guinea,  327,  328 
Flax,  New  Zealand,  229 
Flores  or  Ende,  360 
Flying  fish,  13 
Fothergill,  J.,  xlvii,  71,  181 
Fothering  the  ship,  277 
Frezier,  A.,  xlvii,  227,  255,  346 
Frio,  Cape,  24 
Fucus,  46,  48 
Funchiale,  5-10 
Furze,  447 

GAMBIR,  406 

Gannets,  207,  225,  260 

Garcinia,  393 

Gasterosteus,  17 

George  (King)  III.  Island,  or  Otahite, 

see  Society  Islands 
God-houses  (Society  Islands),  103,  112, 

114,  120 

Gold  in  Brazil,  39 
Grapes,  392 

Great  Barrier  Reef,  293-95 
Green,  C.,  death  of,  426 
Gryttus  taken  at  sea,  44 
Guava,  393 
Gum-trees,  267,  271,  300 

HASSELQUIST,  F.,  xlvii,  272 

Hawke's  Bay,  188 

Heberden,  Dr.,  6 

Heppahs,  New  Zealand,  183,  195,  198, 

207,  214,  248 

Heivas,  97,  98,  120,  123,  144 
Hibiscus,  106,  153 
Eippobosca,  64 

Holothuria,  15,  259,  260,  450 
Horsley,  Dr.,  xxx 
Horn,  Cape,  62 
Hottentots,  439 
Huahine  Island,  111-113 
Hulme,  N.,  xlvii,  69,  71,  180 
Hydnophytum,  304 

lANTHINA,  16 

Iberis,  95 

Image  of  wicker  work,  101 

Imao  Island,  94 

Insects  taken  at  sea,  44,  64 

JACK  FRUIT,  395 
Jambolan,  395 


462 


JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


Jambosa  or  jambu,  38,  394 

Jasmine,  399,  400 

Java  (see  Batavia),  363-416 

Je-quoll,  301 

Jungle  bird,  293 

KARRATAS,  29 

Kangooroos,  282,  285,  287,  291,  301 

Kidnappers,  Cape,  188 

King  George  III.   Island,   or  Otahite, 

see  Society  Islands 
Krakatoa,  or  Cracatoa,  417,  418 

LAGOON  ISLAND,  69 
Lange,  J.  C.,  334-338,  357 
Language :  Australia,  322 

Java,  423 

Madagascar,  165,  424 

New  Guinea,  165 

New  Zealand,  252 

Savu,  358 

Society  Islands,  164,  252,  424 

Terra  del  Fuego,  59 
Larus,  182 
Laurus,  7 

Le  Maire,  J.,  xlvii,  164 
Lemon,  391 

Lemon  juice,  69,  71,  180 
Lepas  (barnacle),  16,  21,  45,  65,  182, 

284,  452 
Lepidium,  95 
Leprosy,  167 
L'Hermite,  J.,  xlviii,  256 
Lime,  chewing  with  betel,  349,  406 
Lime  (fruit),  391 
Limonia,  396 
Limpets,  55 
Linnaeus,    correspondence    with    Ellis, 

xxxix,  xl 
Livistona,  299 
Lobsters,  45,  200,  226 
Luminous  marine  animals,  21 

MACKEREL,  197,  226 

Macrocystis,  46,  48 
Madagascar  language,  165,  424 
Madeira,  5-12 

Carts,  8 

Convents,  10 

Funchiale,  5,  10 

Mahogany,  6 

Money,  12 

Pico  Euievo,  11 

Population,  12 

Productions,  9 

Vines,  7 

Volcanic  nature  of  the  island,  7 

Wine,  7,  8 
Madja,  396 


Mahie,  or  sour  paste,  97,  137 

Mahogany,  Madeiran,  6 

Mamme-apples,  38 

Mango,  38,  391 

Mangostan,  393 

Man-of-war  birds,  330 

Marais,  102,  114,  175 

Marcgrav,  G.,  xlviii,  29,  42 

Maria  van  Diemen,  Cape,  207,  222 

Maskelyne,  N.,  xlviii,  444 

M'Bride,  D.,  xlviii,  259 

Medusa,  12,  21 

Megapodium,  293 

Melhania,  448 

Melons,  37,  393 

Mercury,  transit  of,  197 

Metrosideros,  228 

Michelia,  399 

Mille  Islands,  365 

Mimus,  15,  65,  259,  263 

Mimusops,  400 

Monkeys,  421 

Monkhouse,  W.,  illness  and  death,  371- 

72 

Monoculus,  15 
Moreton  Bay,  270 
Morinda  angustifolia,  153 

umbellata,  152 
Morus,  145,  206 
Moschus,  421 
Mosquitos,  375,  417 
Motacilla,  3,  13 
Mother  Carey's  chickens,  2 
Mulatti,  399 

Mulberry  (paper),  145,  206 
Musa  (banana),  38,  392 
Myrmecodia,  304 
Myrtus,  395 

NAM  NAM,  395 

Nanca,  395 

Narbrough,  Sir  J.,  xlviii,  225 

Nassau  Fleet,  xlviii,  66 

Natal,  428 

Nectris,  64,  188 

Nephelium,  395 

New  Guinea,  325-29 

Language,  165 

New  Holland  (see  Australia}^  1-323 
New  South  Wales  (see  Australia],  296 
New  Zealand,  183-253 

Admiralty  Bay,  220 

Animals,  224 

Banks's  Peninsula,  217 

Boats,  186,  193,  240 

Cannibalism,  193,  205,  211,  237,  247 

Carving,  241 

Cavern,  192 

Chiefs,  189,  195,  249 


INDEX 


463 


New  Zealand,  climate,  224 

Cloth,  206,  242 

Cookery,  238 

Cook's  Straits,  213,  215,  216,  221 

Cultivation,  190,  223,  228,  243 

Discovery  by  Tasman,  221 

Dogs,  225,  237 

Dress,  186,  233 

Fish,  226 

Fishing  nets,  206,  213,  243 

Flax,  229 

Food,  190,  237 

Hawke's  Bay,  188 

Heppahs,  183,  198,  207,  214,  248 

Houses,  235 

Kidnappers,  Cape,  188 

Language,  252 

Maria  van  Diemen,  Cape,  207,  222 

Minerals,  219,  224 

Mount  Egmont,  208,  223 

Mourning  and  funeral  customs,  211, 
251 

Music,  247 

Natives,    general     appearance    and 
habits,  186,  190,  196,  230 

Ornaments,  235 

Plants,  227 

Population,  229 

Poverty  Bay,  183,  185 

Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  209 

Keligion,  193,  250 

Stewart  Island,  218 

Tattowing,  186,  203,  205,  231 

Thames  River,  200,  224 

Traditions,  207,  215 

Trees,  201,  223,  228 

Turnagain,  Cape,  189,  217 

Vegetable  sheep,  209 

Warlike  disposition,  183,  194,  204, 
231,  246 

Weapons,  185,  192,  244 
Noddies,  70,  325,  330 
Nutmegs,  401 
Nyctanthes,  399 


OHETEROA  (see  Society  Islands),  124-26 

Oldenland,  H.,  xlviii,  437 

Oniscus,  4 

Opossum,  291,  301 

Orange-juice,  71 

Oranges,  37,  391 

Osbeck,  P.,  xlviii,  450 

Osnaburg  Island,  71 

Otahah  (see  Society  Islands},  117-18, 

122 
Otahite  (see  Society  Islands),  73-110, 

127-78 
Oysters,  198,  272 


PACIFIC  OCEAN,  boundary  between  it 

and  South  Sea,  65 
Pallas,  P.  S.,  xlix,  291 
Palm,  cabbage,  227,  299 

(Cycas),  299,  313,  421 

Fan,  341,  344 
Palm  berries,  38 
Palm  nuts,  38,  170,  270 
Palm  wine,  335,  345,  398 
Pandanus,  38,  170,  270,  400 
Papaw,  393 

Paper  mulberry,  145,  206 
Parkinson,  S.,  illness  and  death,  426 
Pearl  oysters,  272 
Pearls,  121 
Penguins,  46,  225 
Pennant,  T.,  xlix,  16,  452 
Pepper,  400 
Pergularia,  399 
Persea,  7 
Phaeton,  65 

Phalcena  taken  at  sea,  44 
Phalanger,  291,  301 
Phormium,  229 
Phyllodoce,  17 
Physalia,  15,  259,  260,  450 
Pilot  fish,  17 
Pine-apples,  37,  391 
Piso,  W.,  xlix,  22 
Plantains,  38,  117,  283 
Podocarpus,  201,  228 
Podura,  1 
Polianthes,  400 
Pomegranate,  394 
Port  Egmont  hens,  182 
Portuguese  at  Batavia,  382,  403 

at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  26 
Portuguese  man-of-war,  15, 259, 260, 450 
Poverty  Bay,  183,  185 
Prince's  Island,  418-26 
Procellaria,  2,  16,  43,  46,  63,  180 
Psidium,  393 
Pteris,  190,  237 
Pumpkins,  393 
Pumplemouses,  391 
Punica,  394 

Purple,  derivation  of  the  colour,  16 
Purslain,  448 

QUADRANT  stolen,  86 
Quails,  268 

Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  209 
Quiros,  P.,  xlix,  67,  255,  284 

RAMBUTAN,  395 

Raoulia,  209 

Rembrantz  van  Nierop,  D.,  xlix,  222 

Rhamnus,  395 

Rice,  389,  419 


464 


JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


Ricinus  palma  Christi,  365 
Eio  de  Janeiro,  26-42 

Churches  and  processions,  33 

Climate,  42 

Crabs,  30 

Fish,  42 

Fortifications,  40 

Fruits,  37 

Gardens  and  garden  produce,  30 

Gold  and  precious  stones,  39 

Government,  34 

Military,  36 

Money,  40 

Plants,  29 

Popiilation,  35 

Keception  of  the  Endeavour,  26 

Ship  fired  on,  31 

Water  supply,  33 
Eobben  Island,  442 
Eoggeween,  J.,  xlix,  256 
Kotte  Island,  330 
Kuievo,  Pico,  11 
Eumphius,  G.,  xlix,  29,  153,  304 

ST.  HELENA,  443-50 

Salack,  396 

Sallee-man,  17 

Salt-water   drunk   by  the   South   Sea 

Islanders,  138 
Sanguis  draconis,  267,  300 
Sargasso  weed,  24,  451 
Saturn,  occultation  of,  65 
Savu  Island,  331-61 

Animals,  342 

Army,  355 

Chewing  betel,  etc.,  349 

Cookery,  346 

Dress,  347 

Dutch  policy,  356-61 

Dutch  resident,  334,  336,  357 

Fan-palm,  341,  344 

Feasts,  355 

Houses,  350 

Language,  358 

Natives,    general     appearance    and 
habits,  347 

Ornaments,  348 

Palm  wine,  345 

Plants,  344 

Political  divisions,  341,  353 

Eadja,  335,  353 

Eeligion  and  Christianity,  352 

Spices,  339,  342 

Sugar,  345 

Surgery,  352 

Town  of  Seba,  335 

Weaving,  etc.,  351 
Scomber,  12,  14,  70 
Scurvy,  69,  71,  279 


Scurvy  grass  (Gardamine),  48,  58 

(Lepidium),  95 

Sea-sawdust,  22,  324,  364,  428 
Seals,  46 

Semau  Island,  360 
Sepia,  65,  263 
Shags,  197,  225 
Sharks,  14,  43,  71 
Sharp,  B.,  1.,  255 
Shearwater,  16,  43,  63,  180 
Sheep,  343,  388,  435 
Shelvocke,  G.,  1.,  47 
Shipwreck  off  the  coast  of  Australia, 

274-79 
Sitodium  (Artocarpus],  97,  105,   137, 

145,  395 

Skull,  deformed,  at  Madeira,  10 
Sloane,  Sir  H.,  1.,  12,  273 
Snails  on  St.  Helena,  449 
Snakes  (water),  270 
Snowstorm  on  Terra  del  Fuego,  51 
Society  Islands,  73-178 

Arms,  125,  177 

Astronomy   and    division    of    time, 
163 

Boats,  boat-houses,  and  boat-making, 
111,  115,  116,  157 

Bola-Bola  Island,  118,  121,  122 

Bougainville's  visit,  96,  370,  430 

Bread-fruit,  97,  105,  137,  145 

Carving,  114,  156 

Circumnavigation  of  Otahite,  101-4 

Cloth,  manufacture,  145 

Cookery,  136 

Dancing,  119,  120,  123,  144 

Diseases,  167 

Dogs  as  food,  100,  136 

Domestic  animals,  136 

Dress,  125,  131 

Dyes  and  dyeing,  125,  149 

Fish-hooks  and  nets,  124,  154 

Food,  134 

Fruits,  135 

Funeral  ceremonies,  95,  98,  169 

God-houses,  103,  112,  114,  120 

Gods,  96,  104,  111,  170,  172,  175 

Heivas,  97,  98,  120,  123,  144 

Houses,  133 

Huahine  Island,  111-13 

Imao  Island,  94 

Justice,  178 

Language,  164,  252,  424 

Mahie,  or  sour  paste,  97,  137 

Marais,  102,  114,  175 

Matting,  153 

Meals,  139 

Medicine  and  surgery,  168 

Mourning,  95,  98,  169 

Music,  82,  99,  143 


INDEX 


465 


Society  Islands,  names  of  natives,  84 

Given  by  natives  to  Europeans,  90 

Natives,  general  appearance,  127 

Oheteroa  Island,  124-26 

Ornaments,  132 

Otahah  Island,  117-18,  122 

Otahite  Island,  73-110,  127-78 

Pearls,  121 

Quadrant  stolen,  86 

Queen  of  Otahite,  84,  104 

Ranks  and  classes,  176 

Religion  and  priests,  172 

Salt-water  drinking,  138 

Social  customs,  141 

Surf -swimming,  93 

Tattowing,  124,  128 

Thefts,  76,  83,  86,  92,  99,  108 

Tools,  116,  156 

Transit  of  Venus,  94 

Ulhietea  Island,  113-17,  118-24 

Volcanic  nature  of  the  islands,  107, 
111 

Weather  forecasts,  162 

Wrestling,  88 

Solander,    Dr.,     biographical     sketch, 
xxxviii 

Illness  of,  371-76,  429 
Solanum,  151 
Sonchus,  237 
Sour-crout,  71 
South  Sea  Islands  (see  Society  Islands), 

73-178 

Southern  Continent,-  speculations  con- 
cerning its  existence,  66,  254 
Sphinx  taken  at  sea,  44 
Spices  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  339, 

342,  400 
Spondias,  93 

Sporing,  R,  illness,  374  ;  death,  426 
Squalus,  14,  43,  71 
Staten  Island,  48 
Sterna,  67,  70,  325,  330 
Stewart  Island,  218 
Sting-rays,  177,  245,  269,  306,  318 
Sucking-fish,  14 
Sugar-canes,  390 

Sugar  made  from  the  fan-palm,  345 
Suicide  of  a  marine,  67 
Sunbul,  396 
Surf -swimming,  93 
Swallows,  15 
Sweet  sop,  393 

TACCA,  136,  148 

Tamarinds,  392 

Taros,  or   cocos,  135,   228,   253,   445, 

447 
Tasman,  A.,  1.,  210,  213,  216,  220-21, 

234,  300 


Tattowing   (New   Zealand),   186,    203, 

205,  231 

Tattowing  (Society  Islands),  124,  128 
Teeth,  decay  of,  among  natives,  349, 
407 

Native  attention  to,  407 
Tellina,  146,  198 
Teneriffe,  12 
Terminalia,  396 
Terra  del  Fuego,  47-61 

Animals,  57 

Birch  forest,  51 

Climate,  61 

Dogs,  61 

Excursion  inland  and  sufferings  of 
the  party,  50 

Language,  59 

Natives,     general     appearance     and 
habits,  58 

Plants,  48,  57 

Village,  55 
Tetragonia,  270 

Thames  River,  New  Zealand,  200,  224 
Thespesia,  168 
Tiger's  Tongue,  146 
Timor,  330,  359 
Topazes,  39 
Torres,  L.,  li.,  295 
Torres  Straits,  295 
Tournefortia,  151 
Trade  winds,  21,  261 
Transit  of  Mercury,  197 

Venus,  94 
Trichilia,  396 
Triton's  trumpet,  247 
Tropic  bird,  65 
Tuberose,  400 

Tupia,  96,  108,  110,  111,  118,  121,  180, 
184,  188,  193,  205.  206,  215,  279, 
368 

Illness  and  death,  369-72 
Turnagain,  Cape,  189,  217 
Turtle,  288,  289,  306,  311,  389,  420 

ULEX,  447 

Ulhietea  or  Urietea  (see  Society  Islands), 

113-17,  118-24 
Urtica,  154 
Uvaria,  399 

VALENTIJN,  F.,  li,  234 
Vegetable  sheep,  209 
Venus,  Transit  of,  94 
Vermin  in  bread,  181 

Vigniatico,  7 
Vines,  7,  8,  436 


WALLIS,  S.,  li,  63 
Waterspouts,  179,  261 


2   H 


466 


JOURNAL  OF  SIR  JOSEPH  BANKS 


Wheat    boiled    for     provisions,     181, 

258 

Wine,  7,  436 
Winter's  bark,  48,  58 
Wort  as  a  preventative  of  scurvy,  xlviii, 

71,  258 


Wrestling,  88 

XANTHORRHCEA,  271,  300 
Xanthoxyloides,  273 

YAMS,  135,  228,  312,  390,  445,  447 


THE    END 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  CLARK,  LIMITED,  Edinburgh. 


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